^m?i 



^\: 



HARMONIES 



OF 



THE BIBLE 



AND 



THE CHURCH 



-:o: :o:- 



\H. 




LIBRARY^F CONGRESS^ 



UNITED STATES OP AMEKIOA. 



HARMONIES 



OF 



THE BIBLE 



AND 



THE CHURCH. 




GENERAL E. D. TOWNSEND. 



A shadow of things to come ; but the Body is of 
Ohrist. Colossians ii. 17. 

Saying none other things than those which the 
I)rophets and Moses did say should come. Acts xxvi. 




1891. 



V ^ ^^ 



^*p 






COPTEIOHT BY 
E. D. TOWKSEND. 
1891. 



The pa<j€.s of this book icere set tip, and printed on a 
hand press^ by the Atithor himself; tvhich accounts for 
th eir typoijrapMcal imperfections. 



Dedicated to the Eev. Dr. George Williamson 
Smith, President of Trinity College, in memory of a 
long, and highly valued friendship. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAP. PAGK 

I. THE TEEE OF LIFE . 
The Tree, and the Water . 
The Cherubiuis, and the Fhiniiiig Sword 
The Way of The Tree of Life . 

II. THE COVENANT OF THE IIAIXBOW 

The New Priesthood. 
The Church . . . . . 
The signilicauce of the Cohnirs 
in. TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT . 
Abel's oflFeriug . 
Isaac . 



Joseph 

The Scapegoat . 

The Blood Offering 

The practical api)lication . 



2() 
30 
30 
31 
35 
3J) 
41 
42 

IV. THE FIRSTBOEN-THE FIKSTFRUITS 44 
The Priesthood of the Firstborn . . 51 
The Firstfruits . . . . . .53 

V. CIECUMCISION AND BAPTISM. . 56 

VI. THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW • . 61 
The Passover -Easter . , , . 62 
The Feast of Pentecost -Whitsnntide . 66 
The Feast of Tabernacles -Christmas . 68 



vi 


CONTENTS. 




CHAP. 




PAGE 


VII. 


THETEUMPET. 


. 74 


VIII. 


THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS 


. 78 


IX. 


THE EPIPHANY STAE . 


. 85 


J. 


THE TEMPLE OF THE LOED. 


. 92 




The Tabernacle .... 


. 92 




The Temple at Jerusalem . 


. 95 




The Bride the Lamb's Wife. 


. 98 




Tlie Church Militant . 


. 104 


XI. 


HOLY JEEUSALEM . 


. 109 


XII. 


THE KING OF ISEAEL . 


. IK) 


XIII. 


THE WOEl) .... 


. 120 


XIV. 


THE ANGEL OF THE LOED . 


. 126 


XV. 


THE EOCK-THE STONE . 


. 132 


XVI. 


THE EESITEEECTION OF TI 


IE 




BODY .... 


. 137 


XVII. 


UNITY 


. 143 


XVIII. 


THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYI 


^.E 155 



PREFACE. 



The foUowiug chapters luay at lirst glance seem to 
be nothing but collections of texts with which most 
persons are familiar 5 and that verj' familiarity may 
prevent a careful reading of every word of them, with 
a view to discover Avhat is revealed by the entire 
groups on comparing them together. It is also very 
necessary that an examination shall be made Avithoat 
prejudice; for nothing is so fatal to a just understand- 
ing of any subject, as judgment formed beforehand 
against it. 

Bishop Horsley says:- "It is incredible to any one 
who has not made the experiment, what a proficiency 
may be made in that knowledge which maketh wise 
unto salvation, by studying the Scrii)tures with ref- 
erence to the parallel passages without any other com- 
mentary^ or ex-position^ than what the different parts 
of the Sacred Volume mutually furnish for each other. 
Let the most illiterate Christian study them in this 
manner, and let him never cease to pray for the illu- 
mination of that Spirit by whom tliese Books were 
dictated, and the whole compass of abstruse philoso- 
phy and recimdite history shall furnish no argument 
with which the perverse will of man shall be able to 
shake this learned Christian's faith." 

The typical significance of many parts of the Holy 
Scripture is no new idea. A reasonable recognition 
of it cannot fail to add force, as well as beauty, to the 
scheme of our salvation. It is undoubtedly p«»ssible 



V^Ill PREFACE. 

to indulge too far in fauciful interpretation; but there 
can be but little danger of going astraj^ so long as it 
points only to the "Bright and Morning Star,'' the 
end and hope of our salvation. 

It is not pretended that these chapters 'are exhaust 
ive. They are only suggestive. Perhai)s they may 
be interesting to three classes of persons. 

First: To Members of the Protestant Episcopal 
Church, especially to those who have never fully com- 
prehended tlie true genius of their own Church. 

Second: To members of other Christian Churches. 
These chapters may siiow a design and significance in 
the doctrine and ritual of the Church, Avhich they 
have not sui)posed to be so strictly in accord witli 
Scriptural teaching. While they may not be thereby 
convinced of the necessity of these things, they may 
yet be led to entertain a greater respect and tolerance 
for a faith which can thus give a reason for its exist- 
ence. 

Third: To the People of Israel, this book may be 
offered in the spirit of St. Paul : "Brethren, my heart's 
desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might 
be saved." Romans x. 1. 

Both Christian and Israelite niay stand side by side 
on the ground of the Old Testament. The Old Test- 
ament cannot be ignored witliout ignoring as well the 
very existence of that numerous people. Our own 
Apostles testify of it that, "All Scripture is given by 
inspiration of God." 2 Tim. iii. 16. And, " Holy men 
of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.'' 
1 Peter i. 21. Every fascinating form of literature, 
poetic, historic, descriptive, imaginative, is found in 
this Scripture. None appreciate its delights more 
fidlv than thev whose origin, life, and religion it re- 



PREFACE. IX 

cords. Even the humblest of them seem to be tamil- 
iiir with it. It is a characteristic of* that i)eople of 
aucient descent, that their intellects partake of that 
poetical and imaginative character which is so (con- 
spicuous in the Oriental writings. If, then, they could 
dispassionately and intelligently study the New Test- 
ament, in close connection with their own Scripture, 
the Old Testament, might they not possibly rejoice in 
realizing that the true stories of their Sacred Scrip- 
tures are replete with types and allegories, the expla- 
nation and fulfilment of which may be found in ours t 
This fact once acknowledged by Israel will make them 
in the strongest sense the chosen of God: chosen, first, 
to witness of the only true God; and again chosen to 
eternal salvation, when they shall say, with Andrew, 
Simon Peter's brother, "We have found the Messias, 
which is, being interpreted, the Christ." Then, the 
wondrous and awful sounds from Mount Sinai, which 
accompanied the giving of the Law, glancing from 
Mount Zion, {Fs. xiv. 7.) the Mountain of the Lord, {Ls. 
ii. 2, 3.) will reverberate with a clear and distinct echo 
of hope and joy, from the great and high Mountain, 
where sits that gTeat City, the Holy Jerusalem, des- 
(^ending out of heaven from God, with twelve gates, 
and, "names written thereon, which are the names of 
the Twelve Tribes of the Children of Israel ;" And the 
wall, "with twelve foundations, and in them the names 
of the Twelve Apostles of the Lamb." Rev. xxi. 9-14. 

[The idea of The significance of the Colours, ( Chap. 
II.) is mainly taken from "Hitherto, A story of Yes- 
terdays," by Mrs. A. D. T. Whitney:] 

City of Washington. 
February, 1891. 



HARMONIES 

OF 

THE BIBLE 

AND 

THE CHURCH. 



CHAPTER I. 

THE TEEE OF LIFE. 



-:o:- 



In the book of Genesis we read : — 

In the beginning God created the heaven and the 
earth. Gen. i. 1. 

And God said, Let us make man in our image, after 
our likeness. Gen. i. 26. 

So God created man in His own image, in the image 
of God created He him ; male and female created He 
them. And God blessed them, and God said unto them, 
Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, 
and subdue it. Gen. i. 27, 28. 

And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the 
ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of 
life ; and man became a living soul. Gen. ii. 7. 
The Breath of the Lord God-the Holy Spirit- 
giving man life, made him in the image of God, 

without sin, or the knoAvledge of evil. 

And the Lord God planted a garden eastward in 
Eden 5 and there He i)ut the man whom He had formed. 
And out of the ground made the Lord God to grow ev- 
ery tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food ; 
THE TREE OF LIFE also in the midst of the garden, and 
the tree of knowledge of good and evil. And a rher 
went out of Eden to ivater the garden. Gen. ii. 8-10. 

And the Lord God commanded the man, saying. Of 
every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat : But 
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou 
shalt not cat of it : for in the day that thou eatest there- 
of thou shalt surely die. Gen. ii. 16, 17. 



THE TREE OF LIFE . 3 

Thus God, having" created man in His own im- 
age, left him to enjoy all good things at his pleas- 
ure, only forbidding him to seek even the know- 
ledge of evil. Moreover, God distinctly told man 
that death was the penalty of sin, which would 
come by disobedieu(;e of His command. 
Xow the serpent was more subtil than any beast of 
the field which the Lord God had made. Gen. iii. 1. 
[T.hat old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan. 
Rev, XX. 2.] 

And he said unto the woman. Yea, hath God said, 
Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? Ye shall 
not surely die: For God doth know that in the day ye 
eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall 
be as gods, knowing good and evil. Gen. iii. 1, 4, 5. 

And when the woman saw that the tree was good for 
food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree 
to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit 
thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband 
with her; and he did eat. Gen. iii. 6. 

And the Lord God said. Behold, the man is become 
as one of us, to know good and evil: and now, lest he 
put forth his hand, and take also of the Tree of Life, 
and eat, and live for ever: Therefore the Lord God sent 
him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground 
from whence he was taken. So He drove out the man; 
and He placed at the East of the garden of Eden, 
Cherubims, and a flaming sword which turned every 
way, to keep the way of the Tree of Life. Gen. iii. 22-24. 
There are five significant parts of this allego- 
ry :-lst. The Tree; 2d, The Water; 3d, The Cheru- 
bim; 4th, The Flaming Sword; 5th, The Way of 
the Tree of Life. The first and the second are 
generally found closely connecjted together. 



4 THE TREE OF LIFE . 

THE TREE AND THE WATER. 

David likens a good man to a tree by tlie water.-- 
Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of 
the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sit- 
tetli in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the 
law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day 
and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by 
the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his 
season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever 
lie doeth shall prosper, r^alm i. 1-3. 
And Solomon says :- 
Hajjpy is the man that tindeth Wisdom, and the man 
that getteth understanding... She is a tree of life 
to them that lay hold upon her. Frov. iii. lo, 18. 
But there is another significance belonging to 
the Tree. The Law says:- 

If a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and 
he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a Tree : His 
body shall not remain all niglit upon the tree, but thou 
shalt in any wise bury Inm that day ; for he that is 
hanged is accursed of God. Deut. xxi. 22, 23. 

In the Levitical law sacrifices are commanded 
which, under the Old Testament, were types of the 
one great, all sufticient sacrifice of the New Testa- 
ment. The esi-ence of the sacrifice is thus stated :- 
The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given 
it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your 
souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for 
tlie soul. Levit. xvii.ll. 

St. Paul aUudes to this when he says:- 
Abnost all things are by the law purged with blood; 
and without sheddiny of blood is no rcmi.ssion. Heb. ix. 22. 



THE TREE OF LIFE. 5 

But : It is not possible that the blood of bulls and 
of goats should take away sins. Heh. x. 4. 
Nor can the blood of sinful man :- 
They that trust in their wealth, and boast them- 
selves in the multitude of their riches ; None of them 
can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God 
;i ransom for him; For the ledemption of their soul is 
precious, and it ceaseth for ever: [or^ as in the Fsalter 
rerdon^ For it cost more to redeem their souls; so that 
he must let that alone for ever.] Tliat he should still 
live for ever, and not see corruption. Fsalm xlix. G-1). 
But Isaiah thus i)rophesies of Messiah :- 
He was wounded for our transgressions, He was 
bruised for our iniquities: the cliastisement of our 
l)eace was upon Him; and with His stripes Ave are 
healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have 
turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath 
laid (m Him tlie iniquity of us all... It pleased the 
Lord to bruise Him ; He hath i)ut Him to grief: ichen 
thou shalt maJce His soul an ofierincj for sin, He shall 
see His seed. He shall prolong his days, and the pleas- 
ure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Is. liii. 5-10. 
St. Paul explains this w^hen he says :- 
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, 
being made a curse for us : for it is written. Cursed is 
every one that hangeth on a tree. Gal. iii. 13. ' 
Here may be noted the minute fulfilment of the 
tyi)e in its several parts. As the law required that 
the body of him who was lianged on a tiee should 
be taken down and buried that same day, so the 
body of Jesus Avas taken down the same day He 
was crucified. John xix. 31. 

Again, St. Paul says :-God commendeth His love 
toward us, in that, while we w^ere yet sinners, Christ 



b THE TREE OF LIFE . 

died for us. Much more then, being- now justified by 
His hlood, we shall be saved from wrath through 
Him. Eom. v. 8, 9. 

And again: Be ye reconciled to God. For He 
hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin ? 
that we might be made the righteousness of God in 
Him. 2 Cor. v. 20, 21. 

And St. Peter told the High Priest :- 

The God of our fathers raised uj) Jesus, whom ye 

slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with 

His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give 

repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. Acts v. 30- 

Again, St. Peter said to Cornelius :- 
God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy 
Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, 
and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for 
God was with Him. And we are witnesses of all 
things which He did both in the land of the Jews, and 
in Jerusalem : whom they slew and hanged on a tree : 
Him God raised up the third day, and shewed Him 
openly; I^ot to all the people, but unto witnesses cho- 
sen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink 
with Him after He rose from the dead. And He com- 
manded us to i^reach unto the people, and to testify 
that it is He which was ordained of God to be the 
Judge of quick and dead. To Him give all the proph- 
ets witness, that through His name whosoever believ- 
eth in Him shall receive remission of sins. Acts x. 38. 

Again, St. Paul said to the people of Antioch:- 
And Avhen they had fulfilled all that was written of 
him, they took him down from the tree^ and laid him 
in a sepulchre. But God raised him from the dead. 
Acts xiii. 29, 30. 



THE TKRE OF LIFE, i 

And St. IVtei' : For even hereunto were ye call- 
ed : because Christ also suffered tor us, leaving us an 
example, that ye should follow His steps : Who did no 

sin, neither was guile found in His mouth: Who 

His own self bare our sins in His own body on 
the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto 
rightecmsness : by whose stripes ye w^ere healed. For 
ye were as sheei) going astray; but are now returned 
unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. 
I Peter ii. l>l-25. 

The power to overcome that old Serpent, the 

Devil, through faith in the death of Christ on the 

Cross, was typified when tlie people spake against 

God, and against Moses :- 

The Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and 
they bit the peoide: and much people of Israel died. 
Therefore the people cajue to Moses, and said, We 
have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, 
and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that He take 
aw^ay the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for 
the people. And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee 
a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole : and it shall 
come to pass, that every one that is bitten, w hen he 
looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent 
of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, 
that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld 
the serpent of brass, he lived. Xiim. xxi. 5-9. 
In reference to tliis Jesus said :- 

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, 
even so must the Son of man be lifted up : That who- 
soever believeth in Him should not perish, but have 
eternal life. John iii. 14, 15. 

The type of tlie tree of life is thus shown 



8 THE TREE OF LIFE. 

to signify the Cross of Christ. If the tradition be 
true, that the pole upon which Moses hung the 
brazen serpent was in the form of a cross, there 
couhl be no more expressive emblem of St. Paul's 
saying :- 

Our old man is crucilied with Him, that the body 
of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should 
not serve sin. Eom. vi. 0. 

As a tree draws life and health from water, so 
from the water of Baptism, springs the grace to 
be nourished by the Supper of the Lord, the me- 
. morial of His crucifixion. 

The mention of ivater in connection with a tree 
occurs in several places in Holy Scripture, beside 
those above quoted. 

When the Cliildren of Israel came to Marah, they 
(50uld not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were 

bitter: therefore the name of it was called Marah 

And Moses cried unto the Lord; and the Lord shewed 
him a tree, which when he had cast into the waters, 
the waters were made sweet: there He made for them 
a statute and an ordinance, and there He proved 
them. Exodus xv. 23-25. 

So the broken baptismal vows may be reestab- 
lished by worthily receiving the Lord's Supper. 

The sons of the prophets said unto Elisha, Let 

us go — unto Jordan, and make us a place there, 

where we may dwell So he went with them. And 

when they (^ame to Jordan, they cut down wood. But 
as one was felling a beam, the axe bead fell into the 
water: and he cried, and said, Alas, master! for it was 
borrowed. And the man of God said, Where fell it? 
And he shewed Ijim tlie place. And he cut down a 



THE TREE OF LIFE . {) 

sticJi, tuid cast it in tliitUer; and tlie iron did swim. 

Therefore said lie, Take it up to tliee. And lie put out 

his hand, and took it. 2 Kin(/s vi. 1-7. 

This singular miracle was hardly wrouglit with 
the simple purpose to gratify the man by restor- 
ing his lost property. It probably had an allegor- 
ical significance. "Alas, master ! for it was bor- 
rowed." So may a baptised person say, who sees 
himself in danger of losing, under the turbid wa- 
ters of toil or temptation, the grace which he has 
borrowed in baptism, but has not yet made his 
oAvn by tliat other sacrament in memory of the 
atonement on the accursed tree. But the Master 
shcAvs him the tree of life, through which he 
may reciover that grace. Xor only soj He rewards 
the poor laborer's solicitude for the borrowed in- 
strument, by freely confirming him in its possess- 
ion, through faithful use of that branch of the 
Tree, the Eucharist. 

THE CHERUBIMS, AND THE FLAMING SWORD. 

The Cherubims represent the "Ministering Spir- 
its, sent forth to minister for tliem who shall be heirs 
of salvation." Beb. i. 14. 

In the directions for making the Ark of the 

Covenant, God commanded Moses to make two 

cherubims of beaten gold, one for each end of the 

mercy seat, above upon the ark. 

And the cherubims shall stretch forth their wines 
on high, covering the inercy seat with their wings, 
and their faces shall look one to another . . . And there 
I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee 
from above the jnercy seat, from between the two 



10 THE TREE OF LIFE, 

cliernbims which are upon the ark of the testiiiioiiy, 
of all things whi(ih I will give thee in commandment 
unto the Children of Israel. Exodus xxv. 18-22. 
In allusion to this, David says :- 
Give ear, O Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest 
Joseph like a flock 5 Thou that dwellest between the 
cherubims, sliine forth. Fsalm Ixxx. 1. 

Here is St. Peter's " Shepherd and Bishop of 
your souls"; He wlio says, "I am the Good Shep- 
herd : the good shepherd giveth his life for the 
sheep." John x. 11. 

So David says :- 
The Lord reigneth ; let the people tremble : He sit- 
teth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved. 
Fsalm xcix. 1. 

Ezekiel says of his vision of the cherubims :- 
The sound of the cherubims' wings was heard even 
to the outer court, as the voice of the Almighty God 
when He speaketh. UzeTc. x. 5. 

St. John says of One whom he saw, " like unto 
the Son of man :"- 

Out of His mouth went a sharp twoedged sicord. 
Eevelation i. lo, IG. 

And of the " Word of God," he says:- 
Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sivord, that witli it 
He should smite the nations. Eevelation xix. 15. 
St. Paul says :- 
The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharj)- 
er than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the di- 
viding asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints 
and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and 
intents of the heart. Heb. iv. 12. 
Now St. eTohn says:- 
In the beginning was tlu' Word, and tlie Word was 



THE TREE OF LIFE. 11 

with God, aiul the Word wiis God All things were 

made by Him; and without Him was not auj' thing 

made that was made And the Word was made 

flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, 
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, ) full 
of grace and truth. John i. 1, 3, 14. 

This is He who, in the beginning, created the 
heaven and the earth. Gen. i. 1. 

So, He that sitteth between the cherubims, u])- 
ou the mercy seat, is the Son of man ; the Lord 
who reigneth ; the Word who was God ; the Shep- 
herd of Israel; the Shepherd and Bishop of our 
souls. This is He of whom Isaiah prophesied :- 
He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and 
as a root out of a dry ground : He hath no form nor 
comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no 
beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised 
and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquaint- 
ed with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from 
Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 
Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sor- 
rows : yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, 
and afflicted. Isaiah liii. 2-4. 

THE WAY OF THE TREE OF LIFE. 

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and 
the life. John xiv. 6. 
And St. Paul says:- 

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into 
the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living 
way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the 
veil, that is to say. His Hesh . . . Let us draw near with 
a true heart in full assurance of faith. Meb. x. 19-22. 



12 THE TREE OF LIFE . 

Jesus Olirist, tlie Good Shepherd and likewise 
tlie Judge, by giving His life for tlie slieep, opens 
to tliem again tlie way to tlie Tree of life) while, 
with His flaming sharjj sword, He drives away 
from it the sinful people. And this is His promise :- 
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit 
saitli unto the churches ; To him that overcometh will 
I give to eat of the teee of life, which is in the 
midst of the paradise of God. Eev. ii. 7. 

Blessed are they that do His commandments, that 
they may have right to the tree of life, and may 
enter in through the gates into the city. Eev. xxii. 14. 
And here are the gates :- 
Then said Jesus unto them again, Yerily, verily, I 
say unto you, I am the door of the sheep — By me if 
any man enter in, he shall be saved. John x. 7, 9. 
When a child is baptised, the minister says :- 
And humbly we beseech thee to grant, that he being- 
dead unto sin, and living unto righteousness may 

crucify the old man, and utterly abolish the whole 
body of sin ; and that as he is made partaker of the 
death of thy Son, he may also be partaker of His 
resurrection. 

The Church also, in the Collect for the Sun- 
day next before Easter, thus teaches us to pray 
for eternal life through the death and resurrec- 
tion of Jesus Christ :- 
ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, who, of thy ten- 
der love towards mankind, hast sent thy Son our 
Saviour Jesus Christ, to take upon Him our flesh, and 
to suffer death upon the cross, that all mankind should 
follow the example of His great humility; mercifully 
grant that we may both follow the example of His 
patience, and also be made partakers of His resurrec- 
tion, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



CHAPTER 11. 

THE COVENANT OF THE EAINBOW. 



We read of covenants wliicli God made witli 
man at various times, beginning many thousands 
of years before the birth of Christ. It is curious 
to mark how the ivater and the Mood run through 
them all, like a cord binding together the whole 
system. 

The first covenant was made Avith Adam, when 
the Lord God planted a garden, and made every 
tree pleasant to the sight and good for food, and 
a river to icater the garden 5 and then gave to man 
the right to eat of every tree, except the tree of 
the knowledge of good and evil. Here the cov- 
enant was one of peace. God's bounty to man is 
set forth as His part; obedience is man's part. 
And here, only the fertilizing icater is found, for 
as yet the cause for the shedding of blood has not 
arisen. But after man's disobedience, there ap- 
pears a hlood ofi'ering as atonement, in Noah's sac- 
rifice. For, when he left the Ark :- 

Noah builded an altar unto the Lord and ofiered 

burnt offerings on the altar. And the Lord smelled a 
sweet savour; and the Lord said in His heart, I will 
not again curse the ground any more for man's sake . . . 
neither will I again smite any more every thing living 
as I have done. While the earth remain eth, seedtime 
and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and win- 
ter, and day and night shall not cease. Gen. viii. 20-22. 
And God spake unto Noah, and to his sons with 



14 THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 

him, saying, ... I will establish my coveuant with you; 
neither shall all flesh be cut off any more by the wa- 
ters of a flood; neither shall there any more be a flood 

to destroy the earth I do set my bow in the cloud, 

and it shall be for a tohen of. . . the everlasting covenant 
between God and every living creature of all flesh that 
is upon the earth. Gen. ix. 8-16. 
Again, God said to Abraham :- 
I will establish my coveuant between me and thee 

and thy seed after thee for an everlasting covenant^ 

to be a God unto thee.... This is my covenant, which 
ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after 
tliee; Every man child among you shall be circumcis- 
ed — it shall be a tolcen of the covenant betwixt me 
and you. Gen. xvii. 7-11. 

Circum(;Js ion was the token of the old cove- 
nant of atonement by blood. The heads of fami- 
lies, or tribes, then served as priests for their own 
families. As a first step towards an established 
priesthood :- 

The Lord said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy 
men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be 
the elders of the people, and officers over them; and 
bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, 
that they may stand there with thee. And I will come 
down and talk with thee there : and I will take of the 
Spirit wldch is upon thee, and will put it upon them ; 
and they sball bear the burden of the people with thee, 
that tliou bear it not thyself ahme. Num. xi. IG, 17. 
Afterwards, when the L(U'd instituted the sys- 
tem of worship for the Church of Israel, He conj- 
numded Moses, saying :- 

Take thou Aaron thy brother, and his sons with him 
from among the children of Israel, that he may minister 



THE COYE]^A]S"T OF THE RAINBOW. 15 

unto iiie in tlie priest's otlice, even Aaron, Nadab and 
Abiliu, Eleazar and Itlianiar, Aaron's sons. Ex. xxviii. 1 

TlTe priest's oftic^e shall be theirs for a perpetual ntat- 
ate: and thou shalt (M)nsecrate Aaron and his sons — 
And I Avill sanctify the tabernacle of the congregation 
and the altar: I will sanctify also both Aaron and his 
sons, to minister to me in the priest's office. And I 
will dwell among the children of Israel, and will be 
their God. Exodus xxix. 1), 44, 45. 

And the Lord said unto Aaron — Therefore thou 
and thy sons with thee shall keep your priest's office 
for every thing of the altar, and within the vail; and 
ye shall serve : I have given your priest's office unto 
you as a service of gift: and the stranger that cometh 
nigh shall he put to death .... Behold, I also have given 
thee the charge of mine heave offerings of all the hal- 
lowed things of the children of Israel ; unto thee have 
I given them by reason of the anointing, and to thy 
sons, by an ordinance for ever. Num. xviii. i, 7, 8. 
For his zealous vindication of the law, Phinehas 

the son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron the priest, 

was thus commended :- 

The Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Phinehas 

hath turned my wrath away from the children of Is- 
rael, while he was zealous for my sake among them, 
that I consumed not the children of Israel in my jeal- 
ousy. Wherefore say, Behold, I give unto him my 
('OVENANT OF PEACE: And he shall have it, and his 
seed after him, even the covenant of an everlasting 
priesthood] because he was zealous for his God, and 
made an atonement for the children of Israel. 
X umbers xxv. G-I3. 

From these texts, two things are evident :-lst, 

That the priests were the ministers of God for the 



16 THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 

good of His people, under an everlasting covenant 
of peace; and 2d, Tliat no "stranger," or person 
other than a priest, might interfere to do the ser- 
vice which was entrusted to the priesthood, hy re- 
ason of the anointing. [For the anointing and 
consecration of Aaron and his sons, see Exodus^ 
xxviii, xxix.] 

The jealousy with which the priest's office was 
guarded, was shown when Korah and his compa- 
ny, who were Levites, sought the priest' office al- 
so, and rose up against Moses and Aaron. They 
were punished by being swalloAved Vi\) alive in a 
l)it. Num. xvi. For "they shall not come nigh 
the vessels of the sanctuary and of the altar, that 
neither they, nor ye [the priests] also die." Num. 
xviii. 2-4:. 

So, when Saul in his haste, offered a burnt offer- 
ing, Samuel said to him :- 
Thou hast done foolishly : thou hast not kept the 

commandment of the Lord thy God But now thy 

kingdom shall not continue because thou hast not 

kept that which the Lord (commanded thee. 1 ^am. xiii. 
Again it is rec^orded of Uzziah, king of Judah :- 
When he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his 
destruction: for he transgressed against the Lord his 
God, and Avent into the temple of the Lord to burn in- 
cense upon the altar of incense. And Azariah the 
priest went in after him, and with him fourscore 

priests And they withstood Uzziah the king, and 

said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, 
to burn incense unto the Lord, but to the priests, the 
sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: 
go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast tres passed; 
neither shall it be for thine honour from the Lord God. 



THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW, 17 

Then Uzziali was wroth, and. had a censer in his hand 
to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the 
luiests, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before 
the priests in the house of the Lord, from beside the 
incense altar And Uzziah the king was a leper un- 
to the day of his death. 2 Chron. xxvi. 16-21. 

Malachi thus alludes to the covenant with the 

l)riests of the tribe of Levi, and shows what ought 

to be their character, and what Avas the nature of 

their office :- 

My covenant was with him [Levi] of life and peace -^ 
and I gave them to him for the fear wherewith he fear- 
ed me, and was afraid before my Xame. The law of 
truth was in his mouth, and iniquity was not found in 
his lips : he walked with me in peace and equity, and 
(lid turn many away from iniquity. For the priest's 
lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the 
law at his mouth: for he is the messenger of the Lord 
of hosts. Malachi ii. 5-7. 

Jeremiah speaks of the Jewish x^riestsj and of 

the Messiah, as both being in the covenant of • 

Xoah :- 

Thus saith the Lord; David shall never want a man 
to sit upon the throne of the house of Israel ; Neither 
"shall the priests the Levites want a man before me to 
offer burnt offerings, and to kindle meat offerings, and 
to do sacrifice continually If ye can break my cove- 
nant of the day, and my covenant of the night, and that 
there should not be day and night in their season"; 
[the very one made with ^N^oah,] Then may also my 
covenant be broken with David my servant, that he 
should not have a Son to reign upon his throne; and 
with the Levites the priests, my ministers. Jeremiah 
xxxiii. 17-21. 



18 THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBO^^^ 

Isaiah shows how the covenant of peace with 
the priests is mystically joined by the type of the 
waters, to that with the Church over which they 
minister, whose members are to seek the law at 
their mouth; and how the Gentiles are also to be 
in the covenant. He says :- 

Thou shalt break forth on tlie riglit hand and on the 
left; and thy seed shall 'inherit the Gentiles, and make 

the desolate cities to be inhabited For thy Maker 

is thine husband; [The Bride, the Lamb's wife] the 
Lord of hosts is his name ; and thy Eedeemer, the Ho- 
ly One of Israel ; The God of the whole earth shall He 

be called For this is as the tvaters of Noah unto me : 

for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah should no 
more go over the earth; so have I sworn that I would 
not be wroth with thee, nor rebuke thee. For the 
mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but 
my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall 
the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord 
that hath mercy on thee. Isaiah liv. 8-10. 

St. Peter explains the mystical meaning of the 
Ark, and the waters :- 

The longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noali 
while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, 
eight souls were saved by water. The like figure 
whereunto, even baptism, doth also now save us (not 
the putting away of the filth of the flesh, but the an- 
swer of a good conscience toward God,) by the resur- 
rection of Jesus Christ. 1 Peter iii. 20, 21. 

THE NEW PRIESTHOOD. 

In the process of time, the priests became lax 
and corrupt, as we learn from Malachi :- 



THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 19 

Ye are departed out of the Avaj^; ye have caused 
many to stumble at the hiw; ye have corrupted the 
covenant of Levi, saith the Lord of hosts. Therefore 
have I also made you contemptible and base before all 
the people, according as ye have not kept my Avays, 
but have been partial in the law. Malachi ii. 8, 9. 
Because of the corrupt practices into which the 
priests of the tribe of Levi had fallen, and the im- 
perfection of their ministry, as adapted to a more 
advanced age, God established a new order of the 
priesthood. He did liot suiTer the office to expire, 
for He had promised that it should be everlasting. 
Think not that I am come to destro}^ the Law, or 
the Prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. 
. Tims saith our Lord Jesus Christ. Matt. v. 17. 
His covenant with David, tliat he should have 
a son to reign upon his throne, was accomplished 
when the Angel announced :- 

Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day 
in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the 
Lord. LiiJie ii. 10, 11. 

Then, with the Angel, a multitude of the heav- 
enly host proclaimed anew the Covenant of His 
peace^ saying :- 

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, 
good will toward men. Lulie ii. 14. 

The covenant with tlie priests was perfected in 
Him who was the promised Messiah f who, while 
declaring that He was a King, yet said:- 
My kingdom is not of this world. John xviii. 36, 37. 
For every High Priest taken from among men is 
ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he 
may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins.-. . . And no 



20 THE COVENANT OF THE EAINBOAY. 

man taketh -this honour unto liimself^ but lie that is 
called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified 
not Himself to be made an Higli Priest j but He tliat 
said unto Him, Thou art my Son, to day have I begot- 
ten thee. As He saith also in another place, [Ps. ex. 4] 
Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Melchis- 
edec. Hebrews v. 1-6. 

St. Paul, himself a Jew, thus explains to the 
Jews the consequence of the corrupt state of their 
priests, to which Malachi referred :- 
If perfection were by the Levitical priesthood, (for 
under it the people received the law,) what further 
need was there that another priest should rise after 
the order of Melchisedec, and not be called after the 

order of Aaron ? For it is evident that our Lord 

sprang out of Juda ; of which tribe Moses spake noth- 
ing concerning priesthood There is verily a disan- 
nulling of the commandment going before for the 
weakness and unprofitableness thereof. For the law 
made nothing perfect, but tlie bringing in of a better 

hope did 5 b}^ the which we draw nigh unto God 

And they truly were many Priests, because they were 
not suffered to continue by reason of death : But this 
man, because He continueth ever, hath an unchange- 
able priesthood Such an High Priest became us, 

who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, 
and made higher than tbe heavens. Heh. vii. 11-28. 
The Messiah, the Son of God, promised in the 
covenant with David, could alone perfectly fulfil 
the condition of holiness in a lligli Priest. All of 
the four Evangelists describe the visible anointing 
of this Higli Priest, by the descent of the Holy 
Spirit upon Him at the time of His baptism ; and 
St. John bears this testimonv in that connection:- 



THE COVENANT OF THE KAINBOW. 21 

He that sent me to baptize with water, tlie same 
said unto me, Upon whom tliou slialt see the Spirit 
(lesceuding-, aud remaining ou Him, the same is Pie 
which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. John i. 29-34. 
He says of Himself :- 
The Spirit of the Lord is u[)on me, because He hath 
anointed me to in^eacli the Gospel to the poor. Lulte 
iv. 18-21. 

And St. Peter says of Him :- 
How God anointed Jesus of ^N^azareth with the Ho- 
ly Ghost and with power, .lets' x. 38. 
And this is tlie work of His officer- 
Christ [which means anointed^] is not entered into 
the holy places made with hands, which are the figures 
of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the 

presence of God for us ^N'oav once in the end of the 

world hath He apx)eared to put awaj^ sin by the sacri- 
fice of Himself. Hehreivs ix. 24, 26. 

For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of 

goats shouhl take away sins He taketh away the 

tirst, [covenant] that He may establish the second 

For by one offering [ of Himself,] He hath perfected for 
ever them that are sanctiiied. Heh. x. 4-14. 

The first covenant, which required the shedding 
of the blood of animals in atonement for sin, was 
a type of the second, which was perfecited by the 
blood of Jesus Christ. The first was taken away 
by Him when He fulfilled the type " by the sacri- 
fice of Himself." 

Now this great High Priest called and ordained 
twelve Apostles, whom he sent to "preach, say- 
ing. The kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matt. x. 7. 
After these things the Lord aj^pointed other seventy 
also, and sent them two and two before His face into 



22 THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 

every city and place, whither He Himself would come. 
Luhe X. 1. 

This is analogous to the seventy elders whom 
the Lord commanded Moses to appoint. 

The Apostles were anointed to their office by the 
descent of the Holy Ghost upon them on the day 
of Pentecost. ( Acts ii. 1-4. ) The character of the 
New Dispensation is here indicated: It is a ^pir- 
ittial, not a carnal oue. The anointing oil was only 
a type of the consecration by the Holy Spirit. 

These anointed Apostles forthwith j)roceeded to 
exercise their ministry 5 and we read that :- 
The same day there were added unto them about 

three thousand souls And the Lord added to the 

Church daily such as should be saved. Aets ii. 41, 47. 
Thus was laid, first, the foundation of the Priest- 
hood of the Second Covenant; and then, by them, 
of the Christian Church. 

Before His ascent up to heaven, Christ gave to 
His Apostles this commission :- 
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing 
them in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and 
of the Holy Ghost : Teaching them to observe all things 
whatsoever I have commanded you : and, lo, I am with 
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Mattheic 
xxviii. 19, 20. 

Here again is the mystical connection of the 
Priesthood and the Church by tcatevj which in bap- 
tism is the tolcen of the New Covenant. For:- 
Except a man be born of trater and of the Spirit, he 
cannot enter into the kingdom of God. John iii. 5. 

He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved. 
Mark xvi. IG. 

Water is the token of the Covenant of peace, fore- 



THE COVENA^'T OF THE RAINBOW . 23 

shadowed by tlie Rainbow, and taking the pla»ce 
of tlie bloody rite, circumcision; for the blood of 
Christ was shed once for all. Heb. x. 10, 12. ' 

As the Lord's covenant with the priests the Le- 
vi tes, was to continue for ever, so He Avho abideth 
a High Priest for ever, promised to be with His 
ministers akvay even unto the end of the world. Is 
it not right, then, that this Christian Priesthood 
should, after the example of the Jewish, be care- 
fully guarded f The Church does what she can to 
this end. The twenty third of the Articles of Ee- 
ligiou, in the Book of Common Prayer, says :- 
It is not lawful for any man to take upon him the 
office of public preaching or ministering the Sacra- 
ments in the Congregation, before he be lawfully call- 
ed, and sent to execute the same. And those we ought 
to judge lawfully called and sent which be chosen and 
called to this work by men w^ho have public authority 
given unto them in the Congregation, to call and send 
Ministers into the Lord's Vineyard. 

THE CHURCH. 

St. John saw " The holy city, New Jerusalem, 
coming down ixom God, out of heaven, prepared 
as a bride adorned for her husband." This is the 
Bride the Lambh wife. {Eev. xxi. 2, 9.) It is the 
Church of Christ, of which St. Paul says :- 
The husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ 

is the head of the Church : and He is the Saviour of 

the body. Ei)hesians v. 23. 

It is the fulfilment of the covenant which Isaiah 
predicted to her whose MaJcer is her husband ; from 
whom His Covenant of peace shall not be removed; 
and whose seed shall inherit the Gentiles. 



20: THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 

The members of tliis Clmrcli are all tliose who :- 
Have put on the new man, which is renewed in 
knowledge after the image of Him that created him : 
Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision 
nor nncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor 
free: but Christ is all, and in all. Col. iii. 10, 11. 
We have seen the Church of Israel, and the 
Church of Christ, both of them established under 
a COVENANT OF PEACE, made with them through 
their Friestliood^ which is to be perpetual. But 
they must be seen united together under the bow 
of promise, and under the same High Priest who 
"ever liveth to make intercession for them.^\ Heh. 
vii. 25.) Because :- 

God hath not cast away His people [Israel] which 
He foreknew But rather through their fall salva- 
tion is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them 

to jealousy And they also, if tliey abide not still in 

unbelief, shall be grafted in : for God is able to graft' 

them in again Blindness in part is happened to 

Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come iu. 
And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, [ Is. 
lix. 20, 21.- Jer. xxxi. 31-3:5.] There shall come out of 
Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness 
from Jacob : for this is my covenant unto them, when 
I shall take away their sins. Kom. xi. 2-27. 

Here is the vision which Ezekiel saw of the 
great High Priest sitting upon His throne, and 
the RAINBOW round about it :- 

Above tlie firmament that was over their heads was 
the likeness of a throne, as the appearance of a sapphire 
stone: and upon the likeness of the throne was the 
likeness as the appearance of a Man above upon it... 
As tlie appearance of the bow that is in the cUrud in 



THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 25 

the (lay of rain, so was the appearance of the briglit- 
iiess roniid about. This was the appearance of the 
likeness of the glory of the Lord. Uzeh. i. 26-28. 
And here is St. John's vision :- 

Immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a 
throne was set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 
And He that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a 
sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about 
the throne, in sight like unto an emerald. And round 
about the throne were four and twenty seats: and up- 
on the seats I saw four and twenty elders sitting, cloth- 
ed in white raiment; and they had on their heads 
(irowns of gold. And out of the throne proceeded 
lightnings and thunderings and voices. Rev. iv. 2-5. 
Jesus said to His disciples :- 

Ye which have followed me, in the regeneration 
when the Son of man shall sit i?i the throne of His 
glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging 
the twelve tribes of Israel. Matt. xix. 28. 

The worship round the throne is thus described :- 

I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels 

round about the throne Saying with a loud voice, 

Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, 
and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and 
glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in 
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and 
such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard 
I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, 
be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto 
the Lamb for ever and ever. Rev. y. 11-14. 

There is a remarkable prediction of all this by 

David, " the Sweet Psalmist of Israel" :- 

The Lord hath sworn in truth unto David ; He will 
not turn from it; Of the fruit of thy body will I set up- 



26 THE COYENANT OF THE EAINBOAY, 

ou tli3; throne. If tliy cliildren will keep 1113' Covenant 
and m^^ testimony that I shall teach them, their chil- 
flren shall also sit upon thy throne for evermore. For 
the Lord hath chosen Zion ; He hath desired it for His 
habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I dwell; 
fori have desired it. I will abundantly bless her pro- 
vision : I will satisfy her i)oor with bread. I will also 
clothe her priests with salvation : and her saints shall 
shout aloud for joy. There will I make the horn of 
David to bud: I have ordained a lamp for mine anoint- 
ed. His enemies will I clothe with shame : but upon 
Himself shall His crown flourish. Fs. cxxxii. 11-18. 

THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE COLOUES. 

There are gorgeous hues in this Covenant of 
Peace, which the imagination of man can hardly 
. (comprehend. Let us try to get a glimpse of the 
significance of those lustrous colors which belong 
to the tolcen of the Covenant, and also to the foun- 
dation stones of the walls of the Holy City of Him 
who sitteth upon the throne which is therein. Ee- 
ason, or fancy, may find an application of tlie de- 
scription to the experiences of a Christian's life. 

The seven colors of the rainbow, are red^ the 
outermost, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and 
violet the innermost. It is remarkable that these 
correspond with the colors of the twelve stones 
which are described as composing the foundation 
of the walls of the Holy City. Kev. xxi. 10-27. 

"The first foundation was Jasper" : crimson^ the 
outer color of the rainbow ; the (M>lor of suffering; 
signifying the Passion of tlie Lord, and the crucinl 
trials througii whicli Ills l^rethren pass to His 



THE COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 1/7 

eleruiil rest in heaven. 

"The second, Sapphire :" blue, the color of "trnth 
and (;ahuness." " The deep bUie of the clearest 
and most cloudless heaven." When Moses, Aaron, 
and the Elders, went up to meet tlie Lord on 
Mount Sinai, they saw :- 

The God of Israel: and there was under His feet as 
it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it 
were the body of heaven in his clearness. Ux. xxiv. 10. 

'' The third, a Chalcedony :" pure, lustrous, pearl 
irhite, signifying purity, humilit}', light. 

•' The fourth, an Emerald ;" deep green, refresh- 
ing and grateful, like the fresh grass and foliage. 
The emblem of Hope. 

''The fifth. Sardonyx:'' a combination of sar- 
dius and chalcedony ; red, with stripes of pearl 
white. The red is emblem of that tender love 
which endiued all agony, even to its precious ' 
blood-shedding; and the intermingled white, of 
the purity which comes of patient suffering for the 
Lord's sake. 

•'The sixth, Sardius:" ret?. This is the middle 
stone, and an emblem of that divine love, that 
cbaritj'-the greatest of all-which .binds in one, 
the "lively stones" of the Church. 1 Fet. ii. 5. 

'•The seventh. Chrysolite:" yellow green, clear 
and transparent; hope, tinged with pure, refined 
gold. The emblem of the soul purified from the 
dross of sin in the fire of affliction. 

"The eighth. Beryl:" pale blue-, an emblem of 
peaceful rest. 

"The ninth, Topaz:" ^eZ?oir, suggesting the il- 
luminating fiashes of the Spirit, like the sun's 
rays, revealing the goodness of God. 



28 THE* COVENANT OF THE RAINBOW. 

"The teutli, Clirysopiasus :" briglit hluish-green', 
the hope of* heaven. 

"The eleventh, Jacinth:" imrple ; an emblem of 
the Eoyal Priesthood. 1 Feter ii. 9. 

"The twelfth, Amethyst :" This is the last stone; 
Of violet^ the inner color of the Eainbow; a ming- 
ling of the heavenly rest hlue^ and the red of the 
Lord's passion and love. 

God prescribed for the High Priest " Holy gar- 
ments for glory and for beauty," in which the 

blue, the purple, and the scarlet colors were con- 
spicuous. Ex. xxviii. 1-12. Then there was the 
"Breastplate of judgment," with the same colors. 
In it were four rows of stones, three in a row :- 
The first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, a carbun- 
cle The second row an emerald, a sap[)hire, and 

a diamond. The third row, a ligure, an agate, and an 
amethyst. And the fourth row, a beryl and an onyx, 
and a jasper: they shall be set in gold. Ex. xxviii. 15. 
These beautiful symbols illustrate St. PauPs 
encouraging words to the Church, in which he so 
specifically refers to the three Holy Persons, 
Father, Son, and Spirit :- 
Kow in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off 

are made nigh by the blood of Christ For through 

Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Fath- 
er. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and for- 
eigners, but fellowcitizens with the saints, and of the 
household of God; and are built upon the foundation 
of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself 
being the Chief Corner Stone; in whom all the build- 
ing fitly I'ramed together groweth unto an holy tem- 
ple in the Lord: Li whom ye -also are builded together 
for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Eph. ii. lo. 



THE COVENA]N'T OF THE RAINBOW, 20 

Tliey also seem to sliow soiuetliiug of the ineau- 
iiig of St. Jolm's vision of Hiin wlio sat upon the 
throne. He was to look upon like a jasper and a 
sardine stone j picturing His suiiering for love of 
His Church. The token of His Covenant of peace 
seen round about His throne, was Hope realized. 
The four and twenty Elders, were the twelve fath- 
ei's on whom His chosen Church of Israel was 
tbunded, now one with that of His twelve Apos- 
tles. They were clothed with the white robes of 
tine linen-'' the righteousness of saints." (-Ker. xix. 
<S.) Hence the surplice^ emblem of the purity of 
the priestly office. Before His throne burned for 
ever, the "seven lamps of fire.... which are the 
Seven Spirits of God, {Eev. iv. 5.) the fire of the 
Holy Spirit of Love unlimited, unsur^jassed. 
Of this Holy City, the Church thus sings :- 
With jasper glow thy buhvarks. 

Thy streets with emeralds blaze j 
The sardius and the topaz 
Unite in thee their rays ; 
Thine ageless walls are bonded 

With amethyst unpriced; 
The Saints build up its fabric, 
And the corner-stone is Christ. 
Hymn 492. 
And thus the Church teaches us to pray:- 

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast built thy Church up- 
on the foundation of the Apostles and iH'ophets, 
Jesus Christ Himself being the head cornerstone; 
grant us so to be joined together in unity of spirit by 
their doctrine, that we may be made an holy temple 
ac(;eptable unto thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
Amen. Collect for St. Simon and St. Jude, Apostles. 



CHAPTER III. 

TYPES OF THE ATOIS^EMENT. 

:o: 

A type is defined to be, That by which some- , 
thing future is prefigured. And Archbishop TiUot- 
sou says, ''The Apostle shows the Christian relig- 
ion to be in truth and substance what the Jewish 
was only in type and shadow." 

As, thiough the blended prismatic colors of the 
rainbow, the true light is revealed, so, through 
the types of the Bible stories, is seen more clearly 
The Light that has no evening. 

That knows nor moon nor sun, 
The Light so iiew and golden, 
The Light that is but one. 

ABEL'S OFFERING. 

Of the two sons of Adam we read :- 
Abel was a keeper of sheep, but Cain was a tiller 
of the ground. And in process of time it came to pass, 
that Cain brought of the fruit of the ground an offer- 
ing unto the Lord. And Abel, he also brought of the 
firstlings of his flock, and of the fat thereof. And the 
Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering : But 
unto Cain and to his ott'ering. He had not respect. 
And Cain was very wroth. Gen. iv. 2-5. 
St. Paul says :- 
By faith Abel offered unto (orod a more excellent 
sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness tliat 
he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts. Hch. xi. 4. 



TYPES OF THE AT0NE3IEJJT. 31 

It thus appears that tlie princij^)le, " It is tlie 
blood tliat maketli an atoiieineiit I'or the soul," 
{Lev it. xvii. 11.) was revealed to Abel tliron<>U 
faith. His clioiee of the fi)\stlm(js, shows how clear 
was the revelation to liim of the firstborn Son of 
Cxod as the real atonement. 

And the Lord said unto Cain — If tliou doest not 
well, sin [that is, properly translated, (c sin-offer ing] 
lieth at the door. Genesis iv. 7. 

The meaning is. If tliou dost commit sin, the 
proper atonement in tlie form of a lamb, lies, or 
crouches, at your very door, as the lambs in that 
pastoral country Avere wont to do. Cain's ofi'er- 
ing "of the fruit of the ground," was rejected be- 
cause he had not faith to perceive the true sig- 
nificance of sacrifice. 

Of the real atonement for our souls, typefied by 
Abel's lamb, St. John says :- 

I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, ^ow is come 
salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, 
and the power of His Christ : for the accuser of our 
brethren is cast down, which accused tliem before our 
God day and night. And they overcame him by the 
BLOOD OF THE Lamb, and by the word of their tes- 
timony. Revelation xii. 10, 11. 
This is the true faith. 

ISAAC. 

When Abram was ninety years old and nine, the 
Lord api)eared to Abram, and said unto him, I Am 
the Almighty God j walk before me, and be thou per- 
fect. And I will make my covenant between me and 
thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly I^either 



32 TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT. 

shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy 
name shall be Abraham [\Yhich means, Father of a 
great nation] \ for a lather of many nations have I 

made thee And God said, Sarah thy wife shall 

bear thee a son indeed; and thou shalt call his name 
Isaac: and I will establish my covenant with him for 
an everlasting covenant, and with his seed after him. 
Genesis xvii. 1-19. 

Abraham was an hundred years old, when his son 
Isaac was born unto him. And God said unto Abra- 
ham. . . in Isaac shall thy seed be called. Gen. xxi. 5-12 

After these tilings, God did tempt Abraham 

And He said. Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac , 
whom tliou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah; 
and offer him there for a burnt ofteriug upon one of 

the mountains whi(di I will tell thee of Then on 

the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes, and saw the 

place afar off' And Abraham took the wood of the 

burnt offering, and laid it upon Isaac his son ; and he 
took the fire in his hand, and a knife; and they went 
both of them together. And Isaac spake unto Abra- 
ham his father, and said. My father Behold the fire 

and the wood: but where is the lamb for a burnt offer- 
ing? And Abraham said. My son, God will irrovide 
Himself a lamb for a burnt offering. Gen. xxii. 1-8. 

And the Au gel of the Lord called unto him out of 

heaven and said Lay not thine hand upon the lad. . . 

for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou 

hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me 

In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be bless- 
ed; because thou hast obeyed my voice. Gen. xxii. 11-1 .S. 
Here is an evident type of what St. Jolm says:- 

God so loved the world, that He ga^e His only he- 
gotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should 



TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT, iVA 

not perish, but have everlasting life. John iii. KJ. 
Twice was a voice heard from heaven, saying, 
'' This is my beloved JSon.^^ The first time was when 
Jesus was baptized in Jordan. {Matt. iii. 18-17.) 
The second time was when Jesus was transfigured 
on the mountain. {LuJce ix. 28-35.) And it agrees 
with what David the prophet says :- 
Yet have I set [or, anointed] my king upon my holy 
hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the Lord harh 
said unto me. Thou art my Son 5 this day have I be- 
gotten thee. Fs^alm ii. 6, 7. 

There are other parts of the type, pointing to 
the Lamb whom God would provide, and of whom 
St. John testifies :- 

Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the 
sin of the world. John i. 29. 

The temple at Jerusalem was built on Mount 
Moriali, which was doubtless in the land of Moriah 
to which Abxaham was directe^l to go. There were 
many hills, or mountains, in the neighbourhood, 
and, as Scott says, there is no improbability in the 
general opinion, that the one which God told Ab- 
raham of, was Mount Calvary, where Christ, the 
great Anti-type, was afterwards crucified j and 
that it was selected with reference to that event. 
Isaac bore the wood for the burnt offering ; so :- 
Jesus bearing His cross went forth into a place call- 
ed the place of a skull, Avhich is called in the Hebrew 
Golgotha: Avhere they crucified Him. John xix. 17, 18. 
It is a curious coincidence, to say the least, that 
the words, "The third day," should occur in the 
narrative of Abraham's journey with Isaac, and 
in that too of the resurrection from the dead of 
our Lord: Whom tliey slew, and hanged on a tree. 



34 TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT. 

Him God raised up the third day. Acts x. 89, 40. 
In allusion to the AngePs promise to Abraham 

St. Paul says: 

To Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. 
He saith not, And to seeds, as of many 5 but as of one, 
And to thy Seed, which is Christ. {Gal. iii. 16.) For 
verily He took not on Hiiu the nature of angels ; but 
He took on Him the seed of Abraham. Heh. ii. 16. 

David prophesies of Messiah :- 
My flesh also shall rest in hope. For thou wilt not 
leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine 
Holy One to see corruption. {Fs. xvi. 9, 10.) For David 

speaketh concerning Him being a prophet, and 

knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, 
that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh. He 
would raise up Christ to sit on his throne ; He seeing 
this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that 
His soul was not left in hell, neither His flesh did 
see corruption. Acts ii. 26-31. 

And St. Paul thus applies the type :- 

By faith Abraham, when he was tried, oflered up 
Isaac: and he that had received the promises offered 
up his only begotten son, of wliom it was said. That 
in Isaac shall thy seed be called: accounting that God 
was able to raise him uj), even from the dead; from 
whence also he received him in 'A figure. Heh. xi. 17-19. 
The Lord promised Abraham :- 

I will multiply tliy seed as the stars of the heaven, 
and as the sand wliicli is u})oii t]»e sea shore; and thy 
seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. Gen. xxii. 17. 
When the children of Israel had become very 

numerous, and were o])i)ress(Ml in Egypt, the Lord 

commanded Moses :- 

Thou Shalt say unto Phinaoli, Thus saith the Lord, 



TYPES OF THE ATO]?fEMENT. 35 

Israel is my JSon, even my Firstborn — Let my Son 
^•o, that lie nniy serve me. Exodus iv. 22, 23. 

Wliile pondering tlie singular fact oi* Abraham's 
exceeding old age Avlien liis son was born, and the 
wonderful history of that great and powerful na- 
tion which descended from him, and which God 
called His flrstborn son, the vision of Daniel seems 
to come to our aid to explain, if we could but com- 
prehend it, the grandest type in the story of Isaac : 
I saw in the night visions, and, behold. One like the 
Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and 
came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him 
near before Him. And there was given Him domin- 
ion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, 
and languages, should serve Him : His dominion is an 
everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and 
His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 
Daniel vii. 13, 14. 

They who cavil at the mystery of the divine 
Sonship of Christ because they cannot understand 
it, would do well to heed what the Lord said to 
Abraham Avhen Sarah laughed within herself, 
doubting that the promise to her of a son could 
be fulfilled :- 
Is any thing too hard for the Lord ? Gen. xviii. 14. 

JOSEPH. 

We read of Joseph that his brethren cast him 
into ^pit\ and the pit was empty, there was no wa- 
ter in it. He was afterward drawn up from the 
pit, and sold to the Ishmaelites for twenty pieces 
of silver. ( Gen. xxxvii. 24) And God sent him into 
Egypt to save life, by distributing bread. Gen. xlv. 5. 

Joseph typifies :-lst. What Zechariah says:- 



36 TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT . 

As for tliee also, by the Mood of thy covenant I have 
sent forth thy prisoners out of the ^nt wherein is no 
tcater. Zechariah ix. 11. 

2(1, What our Lord Jesus says:- 
For as Jonas was three clays and three nights in 
the whale's belly 5 so shall the Son of man be three 
days and three nights in the heart of the earth, [the 
l)H. ] Mattheiv xii. 40. 

Jesus here applies the significant type of Jo- 
nah to Himself. Jonah U ii. 
3d, What St. Paul says:- 
The God of peace, that brought again from the dead 
our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheej), 
through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Hch. 
xiii. 20.-Isaiah xii. 6, 7. 

4th, What Jeremiah says :- 
The Breath of our nostrils, the Anointed of the 
Lord, was taken in their j^ite, of whom we said, Under 
His shadow we shall live among the heathen. Lam. iv. 20. 
5th, The betrayal of Jesus for thirty pieces of 
silver, ( Matt. xxvi. 15.) which was predicted by 
Zechariah 500 years before :- 

So they weighed for my price thirty pieces of siher. 
Zechariah xi. 12. 

6th, Joseph was thrown into prison in Egypt 
with two malefactors, the chief butler and the 
(diief baker. So Jesus was crucified between two 
thieves, in fulfilment of the i)rophecy:- 
He was numbered with the transgressors. Is. liii. 12. 

To make the type of Jose])h (complete as to the 
blood, we must note that his brethren killed a kid, 
often called a lamb, and dipjx'd his coat of many 
colors in the blood, by the side of the pit; {Gen. 
xxxvii. 31.) As if to foreshadow Him who said;- 



TYPES OF THE AT()NE3IENT. ,17 

1 will tread them in mine au^^er, and trample tliem 
in my fury; and tlieir blood shall besprinkled ni)on 
njy ,uarments, and I will stain all my raiment, /.s. Ixiii. 3. 
And of w^hom it is said:- 
He was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and 
His name is called the Word of God. Rev. xix. i;i. 
The coat of many colors was a mark of distinc;- 
tion, indicating" heirship in the one on whom it 
was bestowed. Joseph's coat has been sa])posed 
to symbolize the Church in all its varied forms, 
which is sanctilied by the sprinkling of the blood 
of the coAenant. It may also typify the '-robe of 
righteousness," w^hich w^hen it envelopes a man, 
gives him comfort, and protection from the storms 
of sin and trouble; and which, dipped in tlie blood 
of the Lamb, raises him out of the pit t(» an ever- 
lasting inheritance. 

After Joseph had been raised from the pit, and 
was set over all the land of Egypt by Pharaoh, 
[Gen. xli. 41.) his father and his brethren, the [>ro- 
genitors of the house of Israel, came and lived un- 
der Mh shadow among the Ueathen Egy[>ti;ins. 

David promises as a rew^ard to the righteous :- 
He that dw^elleth in the secret place of the Most 
High, shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. . . 
He shall cover thee with His feathers, and under His 
wings slialt thou trust. FsaJm xci. 1, 4. 
And the Lord Jesus said :- 
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the [>ropli- 
ets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how 
often would I have gathered thy children together, e- 
ven as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, 
and ye would not! Matt, xxiii. 37. 

Jesus is shown to be the Anointed of the Lord 



38 TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT. 

by the prophecy of David :- 

The kings of the earth set themselves, and the ru- 
lers take counsel together, against the Lord, and a- 
gainst His A^iointed. Fsalm ii. 2. 

The company- of disciples thus quoted this :- 
The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were 
gathered together against the Lord, and against His 
Christ For of a truth, [said they] against thy Ho- 
ly Child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, 
and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people 
of Israel, were gathered together. Acts iv. 26, 27. 
The dreams of the chief butler and the chief 
baker are remarkable. The chief butler saw a vine 
with three branches. [I am the true vine. John xv. 
1.] The three branches were three days, at ex[)i- 
ration of which the butler was raised to his place ; 
[the third day Christ rose from the dead, ] and a- 
gain pressed wine in his cup for the king. The 
chief baker saw three baskets filled with bread, 
or bakemeats, upon his head; and the birds did 
eat them out of the basket upon his head. The 
three baskets were the three days at expiration of 
which he was hanged on a tree. {Gen. xl.) As Jo- 
seph predicted pardon to one offender, while the 
other was left to punishment, so Jesus said to the 
penitent thief: " To day shalt thou be with me 
in i)aradise." {Lu'ke xxiii. 43.) The fruit of the vine 
and the baker's bread, are the elements through 
re(;eiving of which in faith, those who abide in 
Him who is the true rinej shall be raised to their 
l)lace at His right hand: while they who abide 
not in Him shall be condemned; and they, as it 
were, shall hang on a tree. 



TYPES OF THE xiTONEMENT , 3JI 

THE SCAPEGOAT. 

One ordiuance ol' the Levitical law, iu respect 
to the great day of atonement, when expiation was 
made for the sins of the [)eople, was that the priest 
shonhl cast lots on two goats which he presented 
before the Lord at the door of the Tabernacle ; one 
lot for the Lord, and the other for the scapegoat. 
The priest oftered the one upon which the Lord's 
lot fell for a sin offering. Then he laid both his 
hands upon the head of the live goat, and confess- 
ed over him all the iniquities of the Children of 
Israel :- 

And the goat shall bear upon him all their iniqui- 
ties unto a land not inhabited; and he shall let go the 
goat in the wilderness. Lev it xvi. 

A similar type of the Lord's death and resurrec- 
tion is shown by the two birds, in ''the law of the 
leper in the day of his cleansing". Levit. xiv. 2-7. 

When Abraham was restrained by the angel, 
from offering up Isaac :- 

Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold 

behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns : 

and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him 

up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son. Gen. xxii. 

Here the rain was the typical sin offering, and 

Isaac the scapegoat. 

When He " that loved us, and washed us from 
our sins in His own blood"; {Rev. i. 5, 6.) "W^ho 
His own self bare our sins in His own body on the 
tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto 
righteousness"; (1 Feter ii. 24.) was betrayed and 
led away to trial :- 
There followed Him a certain young man, having a 



40 TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT. 

linen cloth cast about liis naked body ; and the young- 
men laid hold on him : and he left the linen cloth, and 
fled from them naked. Marl^ xiv,51, 52. 

The Eev. Henry Melville's idea is that, While 
here Jesus was the true sin offering, the young 
man in the linen cloth represented the scapegoat. 
This young man Avas clad in the garment called 
sindon. It would seem that he was a devotee 
wh6 wore this garment as a mark of his religious 
fervour, which may account for the desire of the 
infuriated Jews to seize him. But the sindon was 
also a garment like a sliroud, in which the dead 
were enveloped, and in this lies the type. Noth- 
ing more is heard of tlie young man after his es- 
cape, than of the goat let go in the wilderness. So 
He who bare our sins ascended out of sight to His 
place in heaven. As the young man, esca[)ing 
from the flerce multitude which sought to detain 
him, left behind his linen cloth, the habiliment of 
the grave, so the Loi'd, rising from the dead in 
spite of His eneinies, left the linen clothes in which 
His ])ody was envel()i)ed, ''laid by themselves" in 
the tomb. 

Again, the type appears when Pilate said:- 
Ye have a custom, that I should release unto you 
one at the Passover: will ye therefore that I release 
unto you the King of the Jews? Then cried they all 
Ugain, saying, ll^ot this man, but lUirabas. John xviii. 
39, 40. 

In the types two aie recpiired to show forth the 
atonement and the resuirection. In the fulfilment 
it required only the one Divine J>eing. 



TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT . 41 
THE BLOOD OFFERINa. 

Ai'eordiug to tlie principle "It is tlie blood that 
inaketli an atonemeut for the soul," tlie Law re- 
cpiired that the priest, having killed the beast for 
a sin offering, should sprinkle its blood around the 
altar; and that the body be carried forth and 
burned without the camp. LevU. xvi. 27. In al- 
lusion to this St. Paul says:- 

The bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought 
into the sanctuary by the High Priest for sin, are burn- 
ed without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that He 
might sanctify the people witli His own blood, suffer- 
ed icithout the gate. Heb. xiii. 11, 12. — He bearing His 
cross Avent forth into a i)lace called the place of a skull 

where they crucilied Plim. John xix. 16-18. 

How is all the type fulfilled, since His blood was 
not brought into the sanctuary and sprinkled on 
the altar, but was shed outside the vAty"^. 

The sprinkhng witli blood was the old testa- 
ment. But :- 
Christ being come an higli priest of good things to 

(^ome Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but 

by His own blood He entered in once into the holy 

place, having obtained eteinal redemx^tion for us 

And for this cause He is the Mediator of the new tes- 
tament — jSTor yet that He should offer Himself often, 
as the High Priest entereth into the holy place every 
year with blood of others; For then must He often 
have suffered since the foundation of the world : but 
noAv once in the end of the Avorld hath He appeared to 
put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is 
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the 
judgment: So Christ was once offered to bear the sins 



42 TYPES OF THE ATONEMENT . 

of maDy. Heb. ix. 11-28. 

We are sanctified througli the offering of the body of 

Jesus Christ once for all This man, after He had 

offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the 
right hand of God By one offering He hath per- 
fected for ever them that are sanctified. Heb. x. 10-14. 
And this is the way they are sanctified :- 
Being justified freely by His grace through the re- 
demption that is in Jesus Christ: Whom God hath set 
forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, 
to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins 
that are past, through the forbearance of God. Bom. 
iii. 24, 25. — St. Paul says in another place :- 
The just shall live by faith. Hel). x. 38. 

So then the type is fulfilled. The blood of the 
atonement has been shed once for all. Christ 
having been slain outside the city once for ever, 
"entered in once into tlie holy place," and is by 
faith spiritually brought into the sanctuary of our 
souls. 

PRACTICAL APPLICATION. 

How is the fulfilment of these types to be ap- 
plied for our benefit i 

The first of the sacraments "generally necessa- 
ry to salvation," is Baptism, in obedience to the 
Lord's command to His Apostles :- 
Go teach all nations, ba[)tizing them in the name of 

the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost. 

Matt, xxviii. 19. 

When the Apostles which were at Jerusalem heard 

that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent 

unto them Peter and John: Who, when they were 



TYPES OF THK ATONEMENT. 48 

(;ome (lo\yu, prayed for tlieni, that they might receive 
the Holy Ghost : For as yet Pie was fallen upon uoiie 
of them : only they were baptized in the name of the 
Lord Jesus. Then laid they their hands on them, and 
theij received the Holy Ghost. Acts viii. 14-17. 
This is the second step, Confirmation. 
St. Paul says to those who have been baptized :- 
Your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is 
in you, Avhich ye have of God. 1 Cor. vi. 19. 
And St. Peter says :- 
Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual 
house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrific- 
es, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. 1 Fet. ii. 5. 
St. Paul shows what is the proper sacrifice to 
be offered in this temple, by this priesthood :- 
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of 
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, ho- 
ly, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable 
service. Rom. xii. 1. 

As the priests consecrated by the laying on of 
hands by the bishop, minister in the sanctuary, 
baptize, and administer the Lord's Supj)er, the 
memorial of the Atonement, so they who have 
been made by baptism members of the Church of 
Christ, are, in confirmation consecrated by the 
lading on of hands by the bishop, to be priests 
over their own bodies - the temples of the Holy 
Ghost - to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable 
to God by Jesus Christ. And as a means of grace 
whereby they obtain strength to live righteously, 
they are to take the third step, which is to obey 
the Lord's other command: "This do in remem- 
brance of me," and receive the Communion of 
the Body and blood of the Lord. This is the oth- 



44 THE FIRSTBORN . 

er one of the two sacraments. 

That they may through faith bring the Lord's 
body and blood spiritually into their bodies, which 
are His temple, they are taught in the " Order of 
Confirmation," as well as in the "Order for the 
Administration of the Lord's Supper," to use the 
following prayer:- 

O ALMIGHTY Lord, and everlasting God, vouch- 
safe, we beseech thee, to direct, sanctify, and gov- 
ern, both our hearts and bodies, in the ways of thy 
laws, and in the works of thy commandments; that, 
through thy most mighty protection, both here and 
ever, we may be preserved in body and soul, through 
our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. A^nen. 



CHAPTER IT. 

THE FIESTBOEN— THE FIRSTFEUITS. 



-:o:- 



Among the many significant types to be found 
in the holy Scriptures, that of the Firstborn is one 
of the most obvious and forcible. 

Abraham presented his firstborn son to the 
Lord, and redeemed him with a ram which he sac- 
rificed. 

When God would redeem Israel from bondage 
in Egypt, He commanded them, every man, to 
kill a lamb without blemish, and to take of the 
blood and sprinkle it ui)on their houses. And 
the Lord said :- 

I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, 
and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egyi)t 



THE FIRSTBORN. 45 

botli man and beast And when I see the blood, I 

will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon 
yon to destroy you. Exodus xii. 1-30. 

Thus by the sacrifice of the paschal lamb, the 
firstborn of Israel were redeemed from the des- 
truction which fell upon the Egyptians. 
And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Sanctify 
unto me all the firstborn among the children of Is- 
rael, both of man and of beast : it is mine Thou 

shalt set apart unto the Lord every firstling that 

cometh of a beast which thou hast; the males shall be 

the Lord's and all the firstborn of man among thy 

children shalt thou redeem. Exodus xiii. 1-15. 

The idea of priesthood connected with the first- 
born is shown in the case of tlie Levites. Instead 
of the firstborn children of all the tribes, the Lord 
chose the whole tribe of Levi to be set apart for 
His special service :- 

Thou shalt gather the whole assembly of the Child- 
ren of Israel together: And thou shalt bring the Lev- 
ites before the Lord: and Aaron shall oiier the Levites 
for an offering of the Children of Israel, that they 

may execute the service of the Lord And the Lev. 

ites shall be mine For they are wholly given unto 

me from among the Children of Israel; instead of 

the firstborn of all the (*hildren of Israel, have I taken 
them unto me. For all the firstborn of the children 
of Israel are mine, both man and beast: on the day 
that I smote every firstborn in the land of Egypt I 
sanctified them for myself. And I have taken the 
Levites for all the firstborn of the children of Israel. 
Numbers viii. 5-18. 

The law requires that a man shall acknowledge 
his firstborn son :- 



46 THE FIESTBOEN. 

By giving him a double portion of all that he hath: 
for he is the beginning of his strength; the right of 
the firstborn is his. Deut. xxi. 15-18. 

When Israel called his sons together that he 
might tell them what should befall them, he said:- 
Eeuben, thou art my firstborn, my might, and the 
beginning of my strengtb, the excellency of dignity, 
and the excellency of power. Gen. xlix. 3. 

But there is here a very curious and important 
apparent exception in the application of the law 
of primogeniture. Eeuben was the eldest son of 
Israel, yet it was not he in whom the promise was 
fulfilled, but Judali the youngest son of Jacob by 
Leah, his first wife. In pronouncing the blessing 
upon his sons, Jacob i)assed by Keuben because 
of the sin whicli he had committed against his 
fatber. So with the next two, Simeon and Levi, 
of whom lie said, " Cursed be their anger, for it 
was fierce," because of their murder of the Shech- 
emites. But of Judali he said :- 
Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise — Thy 

father's chiklren shall bow down before thee The 

Sceptre shall not depart from Judah until Shiloh 

come. Gen. xxxiv, xlix. 

From Judah in process of time sprang Shiloh, 
the Messiah, in whom all the families of the earth 
are blessed. 

It was Judah ( or, Judas, Matt. i. 2. ) who pro- 
posed to save the life of Joseph by selling him to 
the Midianites for twenty pieces of silver, saying, 
" What profit is it if we slay our brother f And 
the consequence was that Joseph went down into 
Egypt; was numbered with the transgressors, and 
having, as it were, been resurrected from the pit, 



THE FIRSTBORN. 47 

became a prince, and saved many lives. So Ju- 
das, of the same name, from a motive of cupidity 
sold the Son of man ; and He, going down into the 
pit, rose again that He might save life. Thus was 
the law of the firstborn restored through the line 
of Judah. As St. Paul says :- 
For the promise, that he should be the heir of the 
world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the 
Lmv, but through the righteousness of faith. Rom. iv. 13. 
Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, gave his six sons:- 
Great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious 
things, with fenced cities in Judah : but the kingdom 
gave he to Jehoram ; because he was the firstborn. 
2 Chron, xxi. 2, 3. 

In all this there is the idea of preference, of 
sanctity, of being devoted to the Lord, attached 
to the firstborn. The prophet Micah has a sing- 
ular allusion :- 

Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow 
myself before the high God ? Shall I come before Him 
with burnt off'erings, with calves of a year old ? or with 
ten thousands of rivers of oil 'I Shall I give my first- 
horn for my transgression^ the fruit of my body for the 
sin of my soul ? He hath shewed thee, O man, what 
is good ; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but 
to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly 
with thy God i Micah vi. (}-S. 
And Zechariah says :- 
I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of 
supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they 
have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one 
mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness 
for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn. 



48 THE FIRSTBORN . 

ZechariaJi xii. 10. 

It would seem that the prophet had in mind the 
bitter mourning of Pharaoh when :- 
The Lord smote all the firstborn in the land of E- 

gypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh that sat on his 

throne unto the firstborn of the captive that was in 

the dungeon. Exodus xii. 29. 

In the Century Magazine for September 1889, 
Mr. John A. Paine describes recent discoveries in 
Egypt which have brought to light the tomb in 
which the very mummies of this Pharaoh and of 
his firstborn son were found. The king's name 
was Mer-en-ptah, signifying "beloved by the god 
Ptah/' anglicised to Meneplitah. He had but one 
child, a son whom he called Seti, because he was 
"the boon of his tutelary deity. Set-' the giver of 
life'." And because he was " the sum of his fath- 
er's joy, the one object of his father's love, he was 
called Menephtah, — Seti-Menephtah. 

Menephtah had become old and inefficient, 
when the foreigners in Egypt rose in rebellion a- 
gainst him. He led a large army against them, 
but avoided giving battle, and taking his son with 
him, retreated up the Kile into Ethiopia. There 
he remained twelve years. Seti was, at the end 
of that period, in his eighteenth year. The Egyp- 
tians then returned to recover their land. In the 
conflicts which followed, Seti commanded tlie E 
gyptian army, and displayed great personal prow- 
ess and masterly geiieralsln]). Having subdued 
the rebels, he became regent, and Avas regarded 
as the sure successor to his father's throne. The 
tearfulness of the visitation ui)on Pharaoh in the 
death of this firstborn son, at little over twenty 



THE FIRSTBORN. * P,) 

.years of age, can now be ai)pre(nate(l. It was tliis 
Seti-]Meneplitali, upon whom alone depended the 
etiiciency of liis aged father's throne, and the sue- 
(•ession to it. 

Zechariah's prophe(5Y connects the Ohl Testa- 
ment type with its fultihnent. 

Tlie Angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a 
dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to 
take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is con- 
ceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall 
bring forth a sou, and thou shalt call His name Jesus: 
for He shall save His people from their sins. ^N^ow all 
this wa.^ done, that it might be fulfilled which was 
spoken of the Lord by the pro]i)het, saying. Behold, 

a virgin shall bring forth a son, and they shall call 

His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God 
with us. Matt, i. 2{)- 23.- Isaiah vii. 14. 

And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrap- 
ped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a man- 
ger And the Angel said unto them. Fear not: for, 

behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which 
shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day 
in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the 
Lord — And when eight days were accomplished for 
the circumcising of the child. His name was called 

Jesus, which was so named of the Angel And when 

the days of her jjurification according to the law of 
Moses were accomplished, they brought Him to Jeru- 
salem, to i)resent Him to the Lord; ( As it is written 
in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the 
womb shall be called holy to the Lord;) And to offer 
a sacrifice according to that which is said in the law 
of the Lord, A pair of turtle doves, or two young- 
pigeons. Liil'e ii. 1-24:.- Lcrit. xii. 



50 THEFIRSTBOEN. 

Thus was this firstborD Sou of Mary presented 
uuto God, and redeemed according to the law for 
the Levitical priesthood. It is remarkable that 
the Law says of the firstborn of oxen and sheep :- 
Seven days it shall be with his dam; on the eighth 
day thou shalt give it to me. Exodus xxii. 30. 

But of this firstborn Son of the Virgin we are 
told by St. John :- 
I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, 

and it abode ui)on Him And I saw, and bare record 

that this is the Son of God. John 1. 32-34. 

And Simon Peter answered and said. Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God. Matt. xvi. 16. 
Of God St. Paul declares :- 
Whom He did foreknow. He did also predestinate 
to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He 
might be the firstborn among many brethren. Rom. 
viii. 29. — These "brethren "are :- 

The general assembly and church of the firstborn, 
which are written in heaven. Heh. xii. 23. — And :- 

Jesus is the Mediator of the new covenant, and the 
blood of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than 
that of Abel. Heh. xii. 24. 
St. Paul says:- 

The Father hath translated us into the kingdom 

of His dear Son: In wlioni we have redemption through 
His blood, even the I'orgiveness of sins: Who is the 
image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every cre- 
ature And He is the head of the body, the Church : 

who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead. 
Col. i. 12-lS. — And St. Peter says:- 

Pass the time of your sujouining here in fear: For- 
asmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with 
corrui)tible things, as silver and gold, from your vain 



THE FIRSTBORN. 51 

(joiiversatioii received by tradition from your fathers j 
But witli the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb 
icithout blemish and without spot: who verily was fore- 
ordained before the foundation of the world, but was 
manifest in these last times for you, Who by Him do 
believe in God, that raised Him up from the dead, and 
^ave Him glory ; that your faith and hope might be 
in God. 1 reter i. 17-21. 

Therefore St. Paul says : - 
We pray you in Christ's stead. Be ye reconciled to 
God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who 
knew no sin ; that we might be made the righteous- 
ness of God in Him. 2 Cor. v. 20, 21. 

THE PRIESTHOOD OF THE FIRSTBORN. 

Some years ago a writer in the Church Journal 
made some suggestions w^hich, to say the least, 
are interesting. He says:- 

Kea&oning from analogy in both the Jewish and 
Christian dispensations, we infer that there was a 
divinely ai)pointed priesthood in the antediluvian 
Church; and it seems probable that the succession lay 
in the Firsthorn. 

Then he infers from passages of scripture that 
Cain, the firstborn of Adam, lost his priesthood 
by w^ant of faith. Again, quoting the passage :- 

Seth, to him also there was born a son Enos: 

then began men to call upon the name of the Lord, 
( Gen. iv. 26. ) — the writer says :- 

Which w^hatever it does mean, and it is very obscure, 

certainly onay mean that the priesthood was vacant 

from the time of the ai)ostasy of Cain, the firstborn of 

Adam, till the birth of Enos, the firstborn of Seth. 

Of Seth it is said that Adam's wife :- 



52 THE FIRSTBORN. 

Bare a son, aud called Ms name Seth: For God, said 
she, liatli appointed me another seed instead of Abel, 
whom Cain slew. Gen. iv. 25. 

Is it improbable then that Cain having lost his 
priesthood through want of faith, and Abel hav- 
ing been slain, the priesthood should be restored 
through the firstborn of this man Seth, " apjyoint- 
e<Z" instead of Abel to whom the priesthood would 
have been given "through the righteousness of 
faith f' Perhaps men were then brought by the 
Priest Enos " to call upon the name of the Lord." 
Abram gave tithes to Melchisedec. ( Gen. xiv. 
29.). The sui)position that Melchisedec was a pa- 
triarchal high priest of the order of the firstborn, 
may ac^count for his priesthood being above Aa- 
ron's, as it is shown to be by what is said of Christ 
in that connection :- 

Thou art a Priest for ever after the order of Mel- 
chisedec. Fsfthn ex. 4:.-Heh. v. 5, 6. 

If it be true that there was an interruption in 
the succession of the i)riesth()od of the firstborn 
for some time before it fell upon Melchisedec, this 
may, perhaps, inter[)ret St. PauPs curious desig- 
nation of him as :- 

Without father, without mother, without descent, 
[or, pedigree] having neither beginning of days, nor 
end of life; [i. e. as to his priesthood] but made like 
unto the Son of God; [and so His antetype] abideth 
a Priest continually. Heb. vii. 1-3. 

It would seem that the Levitical priesthood was 
taken instead of the firstborn of all the children 
of Israel, doing away for the time with the priest- 
hood of the firstborn. But the law of the Lev- 
itical priesthood was only:- 



THE FIRSTFRUITS . 53 

Added because of transgressions, till the Seed 
slionld come, to whom tlie promise was made. Gal. uf. 
Clirist tlie firstborn did as^ay with that imper- 
fect law, and restored the priesthood of the first- 
born, after the order of Melchisedec, under the 
law of the Gospel of i)eace. In this view, St. 
Paul's declaration becomes more intelligible and 
forcible :- 

Ye are come unto the heavenly Jerusalem, [the true 
Jerusalem prefigured by ihe Jewish dispensation] and 
to the general assembly and church of the firstborn, 
which are written in heaven, [the true Church of the 
firstborn Son of God. ] Heh. xii. 

THE FIRSTFRUITS. 

As the law dedicated the firstborn of man and 
beast, the beginning of their strength, their very 
best, to the service of the Lord; so also it said:- 
The first of the firstfrults of thy land thou shalt 
bring into the house of the Lord thy God. Ex. xxiii. 19. 
And Solomon says:- 
Honour the Lord with thy substance, and with the 
firstfruits of all thine increase : So shall thy barns be 
filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out 
Avith new wine. Prov. iii. 9, 10. 

This is one of the Sentences api^ointed by the 
Church to be read at the beginning of Morning- 
Prayer on Thanksgiving Day. 

The Prophet Jeremiah says :- 
Israel was holiness unto the Lord, and the firstfruits 
of His increase. Jer. ii. 3. 

This is the same as the message sent to Phara- 
oh: -''Israel is mv firstborn." Ex. iv. 22. 



54 THE FIRSTFKUITS. 

]N"ow, although we know that :- 
^ The whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain 
together until now. And not only they, but ourselves 
also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we 
ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the a- 
doi3tion, to wit, the redemption of our body: {Bom. 
viii. 22, 23. ) 

Yet, we also know that :- 
Now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the 
firstfruits of them that slept. For since by man came 
death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 
For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ 
the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at 
His coming. 1 Cor. xv. 20-23. 

And we know concerning the Father, that:- 
Of His own will begat He us with the Word of 
truth, that v^^e should be a kind of firstfruits of His 
creatures. Janie^ i. 18. 

Bildad said to Job :- 

The light of the wicked shall be put out His 

strength shall be hunger-bitten, and destruction shall 
l)e ready at his side. It shall devour the strength of 
his skin: even the Jirsthorii of death shall devour his 
strength. Job xviii. 5, 12, 13. 

On this passage Scott remarks :- 
The sentence of death i)ronounced on all mankind, 
gave birth to diseases; whicli therefore by a sublime 
allegory, are styled the oft'spriiig of death: and the 
most horrible disease, that which hath the preemin- 
ence in cruelty, is called his firstborn, his might, and 
the beginning of his strength. 

If by sin came disease and death, and the most 
dreadful of all is the firstborn of death, then how 



THE FIRSTFRUITS . a5 

sublime is tlie idea, tluit the Firstborn Son of God 
by His death, destroyed both disease and sin of 
which it was begotten ! 

Before Him the powerful emi>ire of Pliaraoh fell 
because of disobedience; and his firstborn son on 
whom rested all his pride and power in his oppo- 
sition to the Firstborn Sou of God, died like the 
merest captive in the dungeon. So, before Him, ^ 
that great nation, Israel, whom God had called 
His firstborn, were scattered like chaff before the 
wind, because thev rejected Him as their King. 

The spirit of all this teaching is that, in return 
for His inestimable gift of His Firstborn Son 
whom He gave to redeem us from our sins, we 
should continually offer to our Father our very 
best. In the words of our Lord, that we should 
love Him with all oiu* heart, and with all our soul, 
and with all our strength, and with all our mind; 
and our neighbour as ourself. {Luke x. 27.) And 
this is the spirit of the Collect for the First Sun- 
day after Easter :- 

ALMIGHTY Father, who hast given thine only 
Son to die for our sins, and to rise again for our 
justification; grant us so to put away the leaven of 
malice and Avickedness, that we may always serve thee 
in pureness of living and truth, through the merits of 
the same thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Ame^i. 



CHAPTER V. 

CIECUMCISIOI:^ AXD BAPTISM. 



The commandment of God to Abraham was :- 
This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between 
me and you and thy seed after thee; Everj^ man child 

among you shall be circumcised And the uncircum- 

cised ]nan child that soul shall be cut off from his 

l)eo])le ; he hath broken my covenant. Gen. xvii. 10, 14. 

So when a stranger who sojourned with the Is- 
raelites, would eat of tlie passover, he must first 
])e circumcised, in token that he entered into the 
covenant by which he would become ''as one that 
is born in the land: for no uncircumcised person 
shall eat thereof." Exodus xii. 48. 

(Jircumcision, then, was the rite to which not 
only Jews but strangers must submit before they 
could enjoy the promises given to the Church of 
Israel. 

l>ut even under the Levitical Law, water was 
used symbolically as a cleansing agent. A leper 
-leprosj' being a type of sin -was cleansed by 
sprinkling him with water over which a bird had 
])een killed. {Levit. xiv. 2-li.) The Levites also 
were cleansed by sprinkling water of purifying on 
tlicm. [Num. viii. 0, 7. ) And unclean persons 
were purified by sprinkling them with water of 
s('i)aration. {Numbers xix.) 

Jewish writers say that all male proselytes were 
r('(piired not only to be circumcised, but to be baj)- 
tiy.ed; and that the females were baptized; other 



CIRCUMCISION AND BAPTISM. 57 

wise they coutiuued to be as Gentiles. 

Ezekiel records this niessage from the Lord:- 
1 will take you from among the heathen, and gather 
you out of all countries, and will bring you into your 
own laud. Then will 1 sjjrhilcle clean water upon you, 
and ye shall be clean : from all your lilthiness, and 
from all your idols, will 1 cleanse you. A new heart 
also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within 
you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your 
liesh, and I will give yoa an heart of flesh. And I 
will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk 
in my statutes, and ye shall keep^ny judgments, and 
do them. Uzeli. xxxvi. 24-27. 

In this there seems to be an indication that 
baptism was to supercede the rite of circumcision. 
Our Lord Jesus was obedient to the law of the 
old Covenant, being circumcised when He was 
eight days old. {Luke ii. 21.) But He came to 
do away with the covenant of blood in this, as in 
the oft repeated sacritice of animals. So He was 
baptized by St. John in Jordan. {Matt. iii. 3-17) 
And His commission to His Apostles was : - Go 
teach all nations, haptlzing-not circumcising-them. 
And here are our Lord's own words :- 
Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee. Ex- 
cept a man be born of icater and of the Spirit, he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God. That which is 
born of the flesh is flesb [the stony heart of the flesh],- 
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit [a neic 
heart, and a neic spirit] . Marvel not that I said unto 
thee. Ye must be born again [that ye must have a new 
heart, and a new spirit] . Tlie wind blovveth where it 
listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst 
not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is 



58 CIRCUMCISION AND BAPTISM. . 

every one tLat is born of the Spirit. John iii. 5-8. 
In a Convention, or Council, of the ApOvStles at 
Jerusalem, they decided that the Gentiles should 
no longer be "troubled with words, subverting 
their souls, saying. Ye must be circumcised, and 
keep the law;" for they had given no such com- 
mandment. Acts XV. 

And St. Paul says :- 
If the uncircumcision keep the righteousness of the 
law, shall not his uncircumcision be counted for cir- 
cumcision! Neither is that circumcision, which is 

outward in the Hesh : But circumcision is that of 

the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose 
praise is not of men, but of God. Rom. ii. 26-29. 
This would show that circumcision was no long- 
er necessary as the sacrament by which persons ~ 
are admitted to the Church. But baptism has 
taken its place ; and onr Lord's words, "Except a 
man be boin of water and of the Spirit, he can- 
not enter into the kingdom of God," are equiva- 
lent to those of the Law, "The uncircumcised 
man child shall be cut off from his i)eoi)le." 

St. Paul says:- 
By one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, 
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond 
or free For tlie Body is not one member, but ma- 
ny. 1 Cor. xii. 13, 14. — And again :- 

God our Saviour.... saved us, by the washing of re- 
generation, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which 
He shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our 
Saviour. Titus iii. 4-6. 

This is the fulfilment of St.Peter's promise :- 
Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the 
Name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye 



CIRCUMCISION AND BAPTISM. 59 

shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. Acts ii. 38. 
St. John the Apostle says :- 
This is He that came by water and blood, even Je- 
sus Christ; not by water only, but by water and blood. 
And it is the Spirit that beareth witness, because the 
Spirit is truth And there are three that bear wit- 
ness in earth, the Spirit, and tlie water, and the blood: 
and these three agree in one. 1 John v. (J, 8. 

Here as usual we find both the water and the 
blood together. 

When one is about to be baptized, the Minister 
is instructed to say :- 

Dearly beloved, forasmuch as all men are conceived 
in sin, (and that which is born of the flesh is flesh,) and 
they who are in the flesli cannot i)lease God, but live 
in sin, committing many actual transgressions; and our 
Saviour Christ saith, Xone can enter the Kingdom of 
God, except he be regenerate and born anew of water 
and of the Holy Ghost ; I beseech you to call upon God 
the Father, through our Lord Jesus Christ, that of 
His bounteous goodness He will grant to this person 
that which by nature he cannot have; that he may be 
baptized with water and the Holy Ghost, and received 
into Christ's holy Church, and be made a lively mem- 
ber of the same. 

The Prayer which follows shows the figurative 
significance of several events in Bible history. By 
the saving of the just man l!^oah and his family in 
the Ark; by the passage of God's chosen people 
through the waters of the Eed Sea -called by St. 
Paul, their baptism (1 Cor, x. 1, 2.)- and by the 
baptism of the well beloved Son of the Father in 
the Eiver Jordan, we are taught that the element 
of water is sanctified to our use in the ark of the 



60 CIECUMCISION AJNU BAPTISM. 

Chnrch, to bring us into its covenant. So that 
by exercise of the three cardinal virtues, Faith, 
Hope, Charity, we may pass safely tlirough the 
waves of this troublesome world, to the land of 
everlasting life; as did Noah to the land where he 
offered sacrifice ; and as did Israel to their land of 
promise. 

The person is then baptized in the Name of the 
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost ; 
{Matt, xxviii. 19.) and tlius becomes "fellow citi- 
zen with the Saints, and of the household of God." 
St. John says that He who hath the Seven Spir- 
its of God saith :- 

Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the tem- 
ple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I 
will write upon him the Name of my God, and the 
name of the City of my God, which is New Jerusalem, 
which Cometh down out of heaven from my God: and 
I will write upon him my new Name. Bev. iii. 12. 
Again He saith, the servants of the Lamb:- 
Shall serve Him : And they shall see His face; and 
His Name shall be written in their foreheads. Rev. 
xxii. 3, 4. — After the baptism :- 

Then the Minister sliall say : We receive this per- 
son into the Congregation of Christ's Flock, and do 
sign him with the sign of the Cross; {Here the Minis- 
ter shall malxe a Cross ujion the person'' s forehead.) in 
token that hereafter he shall not be ashamed to con- 
fess the faith of Christ crucified, and manfully to fight 
under His banner, against sin, the world, and the dev- 
il; and to continue Christ's faithful soldier and serv- 
ant unto his life's end. Amen. 

The giving of the "Christian Name" and mak- 
ing the sign of the Cross upon the forehead, are 



THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. <*»! 

tittiug emblems of St. John's words. 

At the time of the baptism the Minister says 

the following- Prayer:- 

A LMIGHTY, eveiliving- God, whose most dearly 
,j^\_ beloved 8on Jesus Oirist, for the forgiveness of 
our sins, did shed out of His most precious side both 
water and blood; and gave eommandment to His dis- 
ciples, that they should go teacdi all nations, bai)tiz- 
iiig them in the name of tlie Father, and of the Son, 
and of the Holy Ghost; regard, we beseech thee, the 
supplications of thy Congregation; sanctify this water 
to the mistical washing away of sin; and grant that 
the Person now to be baptized therein may receive the 
fulness of thy gra(;e, and ever remain in the number 
of thy faithful children, througli Jesus Christ our 
Lord. Amen, 



CHAPTER \L 

THE FEASTS— OLD AND NEW 



-:o:- 



The Church of Israel was commanded to keep 
three imncipal feasts during the year. So the 
Church now keeps three corresponding spiritual 
feasts. The command was:- 

Three times thou shalt keep a feast unto me in tlie 
year. Thou shalt keep the Feast of Unleavened Bread 
— in the time api)ointed of the month Abib; for in it 
thou camest out from Egypt: and none shall appear 
before me empty: And the Feast of Harvest, the Urst 
fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the field: 
and the Feast of Ingathering, Avhich is in the end of 
the year, when thou hast gathered in thy labours out 



62 THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 

of the Held. Exodus xxiii. 14-16. 

Three times in a year shall all tby males appear be- 
fore the Lord thy God in the place which He shall 
choose ', in the Feast of Unleavened Bread, aud in the 
Feast of \yeeks, and in the Feast of Tabernacles. 
Dent. xvi. 16. — Israel might not keep these feasts 
anywhere they chose, but in the place which the 
Lord should choose; for tbe Lord said:- 
Whatsoever man there be of the house of Israel, or 
of the strangers which sojourn among you, that offer - 
eth a burnt off'ering or sacrifice, And bringeth it not 
unto the door of the Tahernacle of the Congregation, 
to offer it unto the Lord; even that man shall be cut 
off from among his people. Levit. xvii. 8, 9. 

THE PASSOVER — EASTER. 

At the time that the plagues were brought u[)- 
on Egypt, before God would slay the firstborn of 
the Egyptians, He instituted the Feast of the 
Passover, for a memorial for ever. {Exodus 1-14.) 
This was a type of tiie death of the firstborn Son 
of God; that His blood appearing upon the hous- 
es where we are, sliall be to us for a token, and 
the plague shall not be u[)on us. As St. Paul says:- 
In whom we have redem[)tion through His blood e- 

ven the forgiveness of sins: Who is the image of the 

invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. Col. i. 

14, 15. 

The Jews used to set apart forty days for extra- 
ordinary humiliation before they kept the Passo- 
ver. After that Jesus was baptized in Jordan :- 
He was led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to 

be tempted of the devil. And when He had fasted 



THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 64 

forty days and forty nights, He was afterward an Imn- 
gred Then the devil leaveth Him, and, behold, an- 
gels came and ministered nnto Him. Matt. ix. 1-11. 
The forty days of Lent which precede Easter, 
in which ^*The Chnrch reqnires such a measure of 
abstinence as is more especially suited to extra- 
ordinary acts and exercises of devotion" ( Table of 
fasta, Boole of Common Prayer), is analogous to 
the Jewish fast immediately preceding their Pass- 
over; and to our Lord'^ fasting in the wildernes^s, 
before He began His public ministry. This fast 
is mentioned by Irena^us, who lived only ninety 
years after the death of St. John the Apostle, as 
having been observed in and before his time. 

The Paschal lamb was to be a male without 
blemish. Ex. xii. 5.-^' Ye shall not offer unto the 
Lord that Avhich is bruised, or crushed, or broken 
or cut." Levit. xxii. 24. Not a bone of it should 
be broken. Ex. xii. 46. Nothing should remain 
of it, -to see corrupt ion-but that which remained 
should be burned. Ex. xii. 10. And a bunch of 
hyssop should be dipped in its blood, Avith which 
the door should be sprinkled. Ex. xii. 22. 

These were all types. St. Peter saj s, We are 
redeemed " with the precious blood of Christ, as 
of a lamb without blemish and without spot." 1 
Pet. i. 18, 11). When those who crucified the Lord 
Jesus came to Him, "and saw that He was dead 
already, they brake not His legs that the scrip- 
ture should be fulfilled, A bone of Him shall not 
be broken." John xix. 33, 36 -Ps. xxxiv. 20. Da- 
vid ''Spake of the resurrection of Christ, that His 
soul was not left in hell, neither His fiesh did see 
corruption." ^Ictv ii. 31-P6'. xvi. 10. When the 



64 THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 

Lord Jesus upon the cross saitli, I thirst, " tfiey 
tilled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hys- 
sop, and put it to His mouth." John xix. 28, 29. 
It is also remarkable that Je;^u?i made His last en- 
try into Jerusalem on the first day of the week, 
at the very time that the flocks of lambs for the 
sacrifice were driven through the gates. 

In the Gospel according to St. Luke we read :- 
Now the feast of Unleavened Bread drew nigh, 
which is called The Passover. And the Chief Priests 

and Scribes sought how they might kill Him Then 

came the day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passo- 
ver must be killed. And He sent Peter and John, 
saying, Go and prepare us the Passover, that we may 
eat — And they made ready the Passover. And when 
the hour was come. He sat down, and the twelve Apos- 
tles with Him, And He said unto them. With desire I 
have desked to eat this Passover with you before I 
sufi'er; for I say unto you, I will not any more eat 
thereof, until it be fulfilled in the kingdom of God. 
[Blessed are they which are (jailed unto the marriage 

supper of the Lamb. B€t\ xix. 9.] And He took 

bread, and gave thanks, and break it, and gave unto 
them, saying, This is my body which is given for you : 
this do in remembrance of me. Likewise also the cup 
after supper, saying. This cup is the new testament in 
my blood, which is shed for you. Lulce xxii. 1-20. 
Thus the Priest after the order of Melchisedec 
instituted the new Feast of the Passover. 

That same night, Thursday, Jesus was seized 
and led to the High Priest's hcmse. And as soon 
as it was day, on Friday, they led Him into their 
Council. {Lvlce xxii. 47.-60.) And that same day 
they crucified Him. (xxiii. 'X\.) He lay in the tomb 



THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. G5 

on the Sabbath; Aiid:- 

Upon the lirst day of the week, [Sunday, or tlie 
iiOrd's Day-rto^ the Sabbath] very early in the morn- 
ing, [the women] caine nnto the sepnk'.lire, bringing 

si)iees And they I'onnd the stone rolled away from 

the sepulchre. And they entered in, and found not 

the body of the Lord Jesus And, behold, two men 

stood by them in shining garments — and said He 

is not here, but is ri^en: remember how He spake un- 
to you when He was yet in, Galilee, saying, The Son 
of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, 
and be crucitied, and the third day rise again. LuJcF 
xxiv. 1-7. 

The time of keeping the Passover was fixed on 
the fourteenth day of the moon of March. The 
Feast of Easter, which is the Christian Passover, 
is of great antiquity. It is mentioned in Acts:- 
When Herod had apprehended Peter, "he put 
him in prison... . intending after Easter to bring 
him forth to the i)eople." Acts xii. 1-4. The prop- 
er day on wiiich it is to be observed :- 
Is always the first Sunday after the full moon which 
happens upon, or next after, the 2Ist day of March; 
and if the full moon happen upon a Sunday, Easter 
Day is the Sunday after. Table of feasts. 

As we keep Sunday, the Lord's Day, instead of 
Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, so we keep Easter 
on the Lord's Day, instead of on Friday, the pre- 
cise day of the Passover, because it is not only 
our Lord's death, but His rising again, that shall 
raise us up from death. 

The time is past for feasting in the Church on 
the fat of lambs, and "Christ our Passover is sac- 
rificed for us." 1 Cor. v. 7. He has fulfilled the 



Q6 THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 

type of the Passover; and tlie Churcli at Easter, 
as near the anniversary of the Passover as she can 
Hx it, keeps the feast spiritually, ''not with the old 
leaven, neither with the leaven of malice and wick- 
edness; but with the unleavened bread of sincer- 
ity and truth." 1 Cor. v. 7, 8. 

In so doing' the Church continues to obey the 
express appointment of tlie Lord to keep the Feast 
as an ordinance for evcr^ at the very time set by 
Him. It would seem that He cliose this Feast as 
the time of His death on the Cross, that He might 
substitute for the type the commemorative spirit- 
ual feast represented by the bread and wine. 

THE FEAST OF PENTECOST — WHITSUNTIDE. 

The Feast of Weeks was kept seven weeks af- 
ter the Passover :- 

Seven weeks shalt thou number unto thee : begin to 
number the seven weeks from such time as thou be- 
ginnest to put the sickle to the corn. And thou shalt 
keep the Feast of Weeks unto the Lord thy God with 
a tribute of a freewill offering of thine hand, which 
thou shalt give unto the Lord thy God according as 
the Lord thy God hath blessed thee. Beut. xvi. 9, 10. 
It is also called the " Feast of Harvest, the first 
fruits of thy labours, which thou hast sown in the 
field." Ex, xxiii. 10. The barley harvest which 
began at the Passover, ended at this time, seven 
wrecks, or fifty days, after. [Lcrit. xxiii. 15, 16.) 
. Hence it w^as also called, the Feast of Pentecost, 
Pentecost meaning fiftieth. 

The Children of Israel journeyed forty six days 
after the Passover which they kei)t in Egypt, be- 



THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 67 

fore they came to Mount Sinai. Moses came down 
from tlie Mount four days after, that is, the fifti- 
eth day after the Passover, and delivered to them 
the firstfruits of the Law. Thus the offering of 
the firstfruits of the harvest at the Feast of Pen- 
tecost was a continual memorial of God's double 
mercy in giving His i)eoi)le bread to eat, and the 
bread of life in His Law. 
Joel had prophesied ;- 
I will pour out my Spirit upon all flesh ; and your 
sons and your daughters shall proi)hesy. Joel ii. 28. 
And Jesus had said to His disciples :- 
Behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you : 
but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem, until ye be en- 
dued with power from on high. Lulce xxiv. 49. 

When the day of Peiitec^ost was fully come, they 
were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly 
there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing might- 
y wind, and it filled all the house where tliey were sit- 
ting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues 
like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they 
were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to 
apeak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them ut- 
terance .... But this is that which was spoken by the 
prophet Joel. Acts ii. 1-4, 16. 

St. Paul was careful to keep this feast at Jeru- 
salem :- 

For Paul had determined to sail by Ephesus, because 
he would not spend the time in Asia : for he hasted, if 
it were possible for him, to be at Jerusalem the day 
of Pentecost. Acts xx. 16. 

When they desired him to tarry longer time with 
them, he consented not; But bade them farewell, say- 
ing, I must by all means keep this feast that cometh 



08 THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 

ill Jerusalem : but I will return again uuto you, if* God 
will. And he sailed from Ephesus. Acts xviii. 20, 21. 
The Church keeps this least under the name of 
Whitsuntide, fifty days after Easter, in commem- 
oration both of the firstfruits of the Law from 
Mount Sinai, and of the firstfruits of the Holy Spir- 
it, the promised Comforter. It is evidently not 
accidental; nor is it the contrivance of man, that 
this type of the Pentecost was so exactly fulfilled 
at that time; for it was the Lord Himself who 
bade His disciples wait in Jerusalem-the appoint- 
ed place for the Feast -for the promised Comfort- 
er; and it was He who sent the Comforter at the 
very time when the day of Pentecost w^as fully 
come. Thus did He substitute another spiritual 
feast for one whicli was a type of it. The Church 
in keeping- the Feast of Whitsuntide, conforms 
no less strictly to the arrangement made by the 
Lord, than did the Church of Israel in keeping 
the Feast of Weeks, or Pentecost, commanded by 
Him as a statute for ever. 

THE IEAb*T OF TAlJERNACLES — CHRISTMAS. 

The Feast of Tabernacles was also called. The 
Feast of Ingathering. Exodus xxiii. 10. 
In the fifteenth <lay of the seventh month, when ye 
have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep 

a feast unto the Lord seven days And ye shall take 

you on the first day th(^ boughs of goodly trees, branch- 
es of i)alm treet?, and the boughs of thick trees, and 
willows of the brook; and ye shall rejoice before the 

Lord your God seven days It shall be a statute for 

ever in your generaMons Ye shall dwell in booths 



THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 69 

seven days; all that are Israelites born shall dwell in 
booths : That your generations may know that I made 
the Children of Israel to dwell in booths, when I 
brought them out ol* the land of Egypt : I am the Lord 
your God. Levit, xxiii. 39-43. 

Zechariah says of the importance of this feast :- 
This sliall be the punishment of Egypt, and the 
punishment of all nations that come not up to keep 
the Feast of Tabernacles — Even upon them shall 
be no rain. Zech. xiv. 10-19. 

When Nehemiah and Ezra were trying to bring 
the Children of Israel ba(;k to their ancient observ- 
ance of the Law :- 

They found written in the Law which the Lord com- 
manded by Moses, that the Children of Israel should 
dwell in booths in the feast of the seventh month: 
And that they should publish and jnoclaim in all their 
cities, and in Jerusalem, saying. Go forth unto the 
mount, and fetch olive branches, and pine branches, 
and myrtle branches, and palm branches, and branch- 
es of thick trees, to make booths, as it is written. So 
the people went forth, and brought them, and made 
themselves booths, every one upon the roof of his 
house, and in their courts, and in the courts of the 
house of God, and in the street of the water gate, and 
in the street of the gate of Ephraim. And all the 
congregation of them that were come again out of the 
caiJtivity made booths, and sat under the booths: for 
since the days of Jeshua the son of Nun unto that day 
had not the Children of Israel done so. And there 
was very great gladness. Keh. viii. 14-17. 

Calmet says in reference to the manner in which 
the Israelites kept the Feast of Tabernacles :- 
The first day of the feast they cut down branches 



70 THE FEASTS-OLD ATs^D NEW. 

of the bandsomest trees with their fruit ; brandies of 
palm trees, or such as were fullest of leaves, and bougbs 
of tbe willow trees tbat grew by the water courses. 
The neatest of these branches they carried in ceremo- 
ny to the synagogue, where they performed what they 
called Ltilab, i. e. holding in their right hand a branch 
of a palm tree, three branches of myrtle, and two of 
willow, tied together; and having in their left hand a 
branch of citron with its fruit; they brought them to- 
gether, waving them toward the four quarters of the 
world, and singing certain songs. These branches 
were also called Hosaiina, because tliey cried Hosan- 
na! not unlike what the Jews did at our Saviour's en- 
try into Jerusalem. {John xii. 12-16.) 
Isaiah says :- 
Arise, shine ; for thy light is come, and the glorj' of 
the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the dark- 
ness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the peo- 
ple : but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory 
shall be seen ui^on thee. And the Gentiles shall come 
to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thj' rising 

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee, the 

fir tree, the pine tree, and the box together, to beau- 
tify the place of my sanctuary. Is. Ix. 1-3, 13. 

Compare this with tie following passages from 
the First Lesson appointed to be read on Christ- 
mas Day:- 

The people that walked in darkness have seen a 
great light: they that dwell in the land of the shadow 
of death, upon them hath the light shined. Thou hast 
multiplied the nation, and not increased the joy: they 
joy before thee acc^ording to the joy in harresf, [Feast 
of Ingathering] and as men rejoice when they divide 
the spoil For unto us a Child is born, unto us a 



THE FEASTS-OLD A>'D NEW. 71 

Son is (/icen: and the goverumeiit shall be upon His 
shoulder: and His name shall be called ^^'ondell'^l, 
Counsellor, The mighty God, The everhisting Father, 
The Pi'ince of Peace. Isaiah ix. 2-0. 

Dr. Jennings says as to the Feast of Tabernac- 
les: 

The learned Jos. ^lede's opinion seems to be the 
most probable, as well as the most ingenious, namely, 
that this feast was tixed at this time of year when 
Clirist was to be born, and the dwelling in tabernacles 
was intended as a type of His incarnation, as St. John 
intimates:- And the Word was made tlesh, and dwelt 
among us. John i. 14. 

The word dtcelt in the original, says Dr. Whitby, 
l)roi)erly signifies iahernacled among us: and has an 
affinity to the Hebrew word used to express God's 
ilwelling by the Sliekinah, or glorious symbol of His 
presence. This Sliekinah was wanting in the second 
temple, and the defect was now repaired by the habi- 
tation of the divine nature in the temple of Christ's 
body. 

The Shekinah, or glorious Light alluded to by 
Isaiah, was seen by Israel on many occasions :- 
Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, 
and the glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Ex- 
odus xl. 34. 

It seems plain that the Jews were to keep this 
feast to remind them not only that they dwelt in 
tabernacles while travelling from Egypt, the land 
of bondage, to their land of promise ; but also of 
that glorious presence of God which was at that 
same time visible in His tabernacle which they 
bore along with them. But the tabernacle and 
the temi>le typefied the Lord's Body- first His 



72 THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 

human body in which He was for a time tabernac- 
led, (Destroy this temple, and in three days I will 
raise it up — But He spake of the temple of His 
body. John ii. 19, 21.) ; aud then His body the 
Church. (The head over all things to the Church, 
which is His body. Epli. i. 22, 23.) 

Isaiah says:- 
The Lord will create upon every dwelling' place of 
Mount Zion, and upon her assemblies, a cloud and 
smoke by day, and the shining of a flaming fire by 
night: for upon all the glory shall be a defence. And 
there shall be a tabernacle for a shadow in the day 
time from the heat, and for a place of refuge, and for 
a covert from the storm and from rain. Is. iv. 5, 6. 
Ezekiel explains this:- 
My tahernacle also shall be with them : yea, I will be 
their God, and they shall be my people. Uzek. xxx. 27. 
As St. John also «.ays:- 
I heard a great voice out of heaven saying. Behold 
the tahernacle of God is with men, and He Avill dwell 
with them. Eev. xxi. 3. 

Our Lord gave sanction to the custom of keep- 
ing this feast, and appropriated it to Himself, 
when ;- 

In the last day, that great day of the feast [of tab- 
ernacles, V. 2.] Jesus stood and cried, saying. If any 
man thiist, let him come unto me, and drink. He 
that believeth on me, as the Scripture hath said, out 
of his belly shall flow rivers of living water. But this 
spake He of the Spirit, which they that believe on 
Him should receiAC: for the Holy Ghost was not yet 
given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified. John 
vii. 2, 37-39. 

Isaiah makes a reference to the iHllows in un- 



THE FEASTS-OLD AND NEW. 73 

iiiistakable connectiou witli the promised blessing 
to Israel throagU Christ the Eedeemer:- 
Fear not, O Jacob, my servant ; and thou Jesurnn 
whom I have chosen. For I will pour water upon him 
that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground : I will 
pour my Spirit upon thy seed, and my blessing upon 
thine ofl'spring: And they shall spring up as among 
the grass, as icillows by the icater courses — Thus saith 
the Lord the King of Israel, and his Eedeemer the 
Lord of hosts J I am the lirst, and I am the last; and 
beside me there is no God. Is. xliv. 2-G. — See John 
iv. I'i.—Bev. i. 10-18.— xxii. 13, 17. 

[The above (piotation from Isaiah formed a part 
of the Old Testament Lesson for the First Sunday 
after the Epiphany, or the Manifestation of Christ 
to the Gentiles; but the first part (vs. 2-4) has un- 
fortunately been omitted in the new Lectionary.] 
It is fitting that the Cliristian Church should 
perpetuate the Jews' Feast of Tabernacles by 
keeping Christmas Day, the Nativity of our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ; and by beautifying the 
place of His Sanctuary with goodly boughs of the 
fir tree, the pine tree, and the box. She thus cel- 
ebrates yearly the ingathering of the harvest of 
His redeemed people, for whom He was tabernac- 
led in the flesh; while she fulfils the command to 
keep the statute for ever. 

In the Collect for Christmas Day allusion is 
made to His tabernacling in the flesh; and to the 
Holy Spirit which they that believe on Him should 
receive : - 

ALMIGHTY God, who hast given us thy only be- 
gotten Son to take our nature upon Him, and as 
at this time to be born of a pure Virgin; grant that 



74 THE TRUMPET. 

we, being regenerate and made tli^' children by adop- 
tion and grace, may daily be renewed by thy Holy 
Spirit, through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who 
liveth and reign eth with thee and the same Spirit, 
ever one God, world without end. Amen. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE TEUMPET. 



-:o:- 



At Morning Prayer, on the sixteenth day of the 
month, the Church uses Psalm Ixxxi. The follow- 
ing is the Psalter version of the first four verses :- 
Sing we merrily unto God our strength; make a 
cheerful noise unto the God of Jacob. 

Take the i)salm, bring hither the tabret, the merry 
harp with the lute. 

Blow up the trumpet in the neic moon^ even in the 
time appointed, and ux)on our solemn feast day. 

For this was made a statute for Israel, and a law 
of the God of Jacob. 

The Jews ke[>t the Feast of the New moon at 
the beginning of each month: So it is the custom 
of the Church to administer the Holy Communion 
on the first Sunday of each month. This is the 
command for keeping the Feast of Trumpets :- 
In the seventh month, on the first day of the month 
ye shall have an holy convocation ; ye shall do no serv- 
ile work: it is a day of blowing the trumpets unto 
you. Numbers xxix. 1. 
Bishop Home says:- 
This seventh mcmth was specially marked, and its 



THE TRUMPET. 7i> 

new moou was a solemn lea,st dav wliicli had a pai- 
ticiilar regard paid to it, because acjcording to the old 
calculation, before Israel caine out of Egypt, it was 
the first new moon in the year, which began this day, 
the first of the ( afterwards ) seventh month. The 
tenth of the same month was the great Day of Atone- 
ment; and on the fifteenth was celebrated the Feast 
of the Tabernacles. ( Numbers xxix. 7-12.) 

It is not strange that we should find in the use 
of the trumpet, as God commanded Moses, a part 
of that emblematic ceremonial which prefigured 
to Israel things yet for to come. Their prophet 
Isaiah told them :- 

It shall come to pass in that day, that the Great 
Trumpet shall be bloAvn, and they shall come which 
Avere ready to perish in the land of Assyria, and the 
outcasts in the land of Egypt, and shall worship the 
Lord in the holy mount at Jerusalem. In. xxvii. 13. 
The silver trumpets were made according to an 
express command, and w^ere used to assemble the 
Congregation] and this was to be a perpetual or- 
dinance :- 

The Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Make thee two 
trumpets of silver; of a whole piece shalt thou make 
them: that thou mayest use them for the calling of 
the Assembly, and for the journeying of the camps. 
And when they shall blow with them, all the assem- 
bly shall assemble themselves to thee at the door of 

the tabernacle of the Congregation And the sons 

of Aaron, the priests, shall blow with the trumpets; 
and they shall be to you for an ordinance for ever 
throughcmt your generations. Num. x. 1-3, 8. 

These Avere the occasions prescribed for using 
the silver trumpets:- 



76 THE TRUMPET. 

If ye go to war in your land against tlie enemy tba^ 
oppressetli you, tlien ye shall blow an alarm with the 
trumpets; and ye shall be 71 umbered before the Lord 
3 our God, and ye shall be saved from your enemies. 
Also in the day of your gladness, and in your solemn 
days, and in the beginnings of your months, ye shall 
blow with the trumi)ets over your burnt oft'erings, and 
over the sacrifices of your peace offerings; that they 
may be to you for a memorial before your God. 
Xumbers x. 9, 10. 

When the law was given on Mount Sinai :- 

It came to pass on the third day in the morning, 
tliat there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick 
(•loud upon the Mount, and the voice of the trumpet 
exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the 
camp trembled. Exodus xix. 16. 

All the people saw the thunderings, and the light 
nings, and the noise of the trumpet, and the mountain 
smoking. Exodus xx. 18. 

St. Paul tells us that the Law :- 

Was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediatoi-. 
Galatians iii. 10. — And St. Stephen says of Moses :- 

This is he, that was in the church in the wilderness 
with the Angel which spake to him in the Mount Sina, 
and with our fathers: Avho received the lively oracles 
to give unto us. Acts vii. 38. 

And he denounces the Jews:- 

Who have received the Law by the disposition of 
angels^ and have not kept it. Acts vii. 51-53. 

It thus seems that the trumpet sounds were 

signs of the presence of llim:- 

Who maketh His angels spirits; His ministers a 
flaming fire, rsalm civ. 4. — Are they not all minis- 
tering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who 



THE TRUMPET. H 

shall be heirs of salvation ? Hehreics i. 14. 
St. Paul tells ns:- 
We sball not all sleep, bat we shall all be changed, 
in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last 
trump : for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead 
sliall be raised incorruptible, and Ave shall be changed. 
1 Corinthians xv. 51, 52. 
David says :- 
God is gone up with a shout, the Lord with the 
sound of a trumpet. Fmlm xlvii. 5. 

As He ascended after His resurrection, so :- 
The Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with 
,1 shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and with 
the trump of God : and the dead in Christ shall rise. 
1 Thess. iv. 16. 

As the Lord Himself saith:- 
They shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds 
of heaven with power and great gbny. And He shall 
send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and 
they sball gather together His elect from the four 
winds, from one end of heaven to the other, [they 
shall ^e numbered before the Lord.] Matt. xxiv. 30, 31. 
The Church recognizes the ministration of the 
angels, mysterious and unseen though it be, re- 
membering wliat David says:- 
He shall give His angels charge over thee, to l?:eep 
thee in all thy ways. They shall bear thee up in their 
hands, lest thou dash thy foot against a stone. Fs. 
xci. 11, 12. 

A day- September 21)th- called "The Feast of 
St. Michael and all Angels," is set apart to med- 
itate upon this subject. This is one of the means 
by which we can prepare for that dread moment 
when we shall come to realize St. John's vision:- 



78 THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. 

I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard 
behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, Saying, I 
am Alpha and Omega, the Fiest and the Last. 
Revelation i. 10, 11. 

By the nse of the Gospel appointed for that day 
the Church would correct a wroug idea, that chil- 
dren, and saiutly persons become angels after 
death. The Collect shows the proper interpreta- 
tion of the passage :-" In heaven their angels do 
always behold the face of my Father which is in 
heaven ;" while it also instructs us that we are not 
to address our prayers to angels, or spirits, but to 
their God, and our God, for :- 

There is one Mediator between God and men, the 
man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy ii. 5. 

OEVEliLASTING God, who hast ordained and 
constituted the services of Angels and men in a 
wonderful order; mercifully grant, that as thy holy 
Angels always do thee service in heaven ; so, by t\\y 
appointment, they may succour and defend us on 
earth, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. 



:o:- 



Wheu the Lord commanded Moses to make the 
Tabernacle, aud all the implements for its service, 
He said, "See that thou make all things accord- 
ing to the pattern shewed to thee in the Mount." 
Ex. XXV. 40. — Heh. viii. 5. And the priests who 
offered gifts according to the law, served "unto 



THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. IQ 

the example and shadow of heavenly things." 
Heb. viii. 5. — In the Tabernacle was a candlestick 
of gold, with six branches -sere/i in all- and the 
lamps thereof gave their light. Ux. xxv. 31-37. - 
Of what may this candlestick have been the shad- 
ow? In the Scriptures seven is a sacred, mys- 
tic number. The Jews supposed it to represent 
God. The seventh day of the week, and the sev- 
enth years, were devoted to the Lord. Seven is 
also applied in a curious manner to the Holy Spir- 
it of God; and when mention occurs of "The Sev- 
en Spirits" in connection with the Father and the 
Son, it is undoubtedly a grouping of the persons 
of the Holy Trinity. Thus, St. John says:- 
John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace 
be unto you, and peace, from Him which is, and which 
was, and which is to come; and from the Seven Spir- 
its which are before His throne; And from Jesus Christ 
who is the faithful witness, and tlie first begotten of 
the dead, and the Prince of the kings of the earth. 
Revelation i. 4, 5. 

St. John in his Apocalyptic vision often speaks 
of the Seven Spirits of God which are before His 
throne : And he applies the type of the seven can- 
dlesticks not only to tlie seven Spirits, but to the 
seven Churches. From this it may be inferred 
that the seven Spirits represent the one Holy Spir- 
it; and the seven Churches, the one Holy Church 
of which He is the light. Zechariah saw a can- 
dlestick all of gold, with a bowl upon the top of it 
and his seven lamps thereon. And the Angel told 
him that the signification was:- 
This is the word of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, say- 
ing, Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit^ 



80 THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. 

saith the Lord of hosts. Zeck, iv. l-C. 

St. John seems to explain this in his vision :- 
There were seven lamps of tire burning before the 
throne, which are the Seven Spirits of God. Rev, iv. 5. 
When St. John saw seven candlesticks, and in 
the midst of them One like unto the Son of man, 
having in His right hand seven stars. He told him: 
The seven stars which thou sawest in my right 
hand, are the angels [bisliops] of the seven Churches: 
and the seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the 
seven Churches. Eev. i. 8-20. 

The Lord Jesus Christ, both as the Lamb, and 
as the Stone, is represented as having the seven 
Spirits of God. 

First, As the Lamb :- 
The Boot of David hath [uevailed to open the book, 
and to loose the seven seals thereof. And I beheld, 
and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four 
beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb, 
as it had been slain, having seven horns, and seven 
ejes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth 
into all the earth. Eev. v. 5, 6. 

And the thousands around the throne said:- 
Worthy is the Lanib that was slain to receive pow- 
er, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, 
and glory, and blessing;-Seven attributes. Eev. v. 12. 
Second, As the Stone :- 
Behold, I will bring forth my servant The Branch. 
For, behold, tlie Stone that I have laid before Joshua; 
upon one Stone shall be seven eyes: behold, I will en- 
grave the graving thereof, saith the Lord of hosts.v 
Zechariah iii. 8, 9. 

This graving by the Lord Himself upon the 
Stone, contained the law and the ten command- 



THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. 81 

inents of the Church of Israel and of the Church 

of Christ; one link by which the two Churches 

are connected. At Mount Sinai :- 

The Lord said unto Moses, Come up to me into the 
Mount, and be there : and I will give thee tables of 
.stone, and a law, and commandments which I have 
written; that thou mayest teacli them. Ex. xxiv. 12. 

And Moses turned, and went down from the Mount, 
and the two tables of the testimony Avere in his hand. 

And the tables were the work of God, and the 

writing was the writing of God, graven upon the 
tables. Exodus xxxii. 15, 10. 
David says:- 

The t^tone which the builders refused is become the 
head stone of the corner. Vaalm cxviii. liU. 
And St. Paul :- 

Through Him we both have access hy one Spirit un- 
to the Father And are built upon tlie fcmndation 

of the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ Himself 
being ti:e chief corner stone; In whom all the build- 
ing fitly framed together growefch unto an holy tem- 
ple in the Lord: In whom ye also are Luilded togetli- 
er for an habitation of God through the Spirit. Eph. 
ii. 18-22. — Again, St. Peter xays:- 

Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual 
liouse, an holy priesthood, to offemp spiritual sacri- 
fices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ. Wherefore 
also it is contained in the Scripture, Behold, I laj' in 
Sion a (Jhief Corner JStone, elect, precious: aud he that 
belie veth on Him shall not be confounded. Unto you 
therefore which believe He is precious: but unto them 
which be disobedient, the Stone which the builders 
disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner. 
1 refer ii. 5-7. — Isaiah xxviii. 16. 



82 THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. 

So, He wlio Latli the Seven Spirits-tlie one per- 
fect Spirit -of God, is the Chief Corner Stone of 
the one perfect Church. And as the tabernacle 
and the temi)le were composed of several parts 
Htly framed together, forming one building for the 
service of God, .so the members of the Church, as 
lively stones each having his place aud office, are 
by keeping His law and commandments, built up 
a spiritual house for the acceptable worship of 
God. Uph. ii. l<)-22.— iv. 15, 10. 

St. Paul says: ''There is one Spirit, but diversi- 
ties of gifts.' ^ Bom. xii. ({.-1 Cor. xii. 4:.-Heb. ii. 4. 
And the mystical number seven is used in descri- 
bing the gifts, in several jjlaces, like these which 
follow :- 

The words of the Lord [wisdom] are pure words : as 
silver tried in a furnace of earth, purified seven times. 
Fsahn xii. 0. 

Wisdom hath builded her houj^e, she^hath hewn out 
her seven pillars. Frov. ix. 1. Seven pillars — the 
seven Spirits of God, which is perfect wisdom. 

The diversity of gifts of the Spirit is thus des- 
cribed by St. Paul :- 

The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every 
man to profit withal. For to one is given by the Spir- 
it the Word of wisdom] to another the Word of Jcnotr 
ledge by the sftme Spirit; to another faith by the 

same Spirit; to another prophecij'j [or the gift of 

teaching] to another discerning of spirits', to another 
divers Mnds of tongues ] to another the interpret at ion 
of tongues. 1 Cor. xii. 7-10. 
The Prophet Isaiah says:- 
There shall come forth a Kod out of the stem of 
Jesse, and a Branch [the same Branch si)oken of by 



THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS. 83 

Zecluiriali as liiiviiig the seveii eyes, which are the 
seven Spirits of God] shall <>tow out of his roots: And 
the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, "[as the 
Lord of hosts engraved the seven eyes upon the stone] 
the spirit of ic'iMlom and understanding, the spirit of 
counsel and mlglii, the spirit of knowledge and of the 

fear of the Lord With righteousness shall He judge 

the poor, and reprove with ecpiity for the meek of the 
earth. Isaiah xi. 1-4. 

Here are seven diverse gifts of the Spirit. And 
as these gifts are (H)mmuni(;ated to each member 
of the Church, through its ordinances and servic- 
es, ^'according as God hath dealt to every man the 
measure of faith," {Rom. xii. 3.) it may be infer- 
red that the seven candlesticks which gave light 
in the Tabernacle, were the shadow of the Spirit 
wliich lights up the Church, and is reflected from 
its worthy members according as they show forth 
the fruits of the Spirit. 

The true and perfect Church shall only be seen 
in all its glory in Heaven. The candlestick with 
its seven lamps gave light to the Tabernacle: but 
the Church thus typefied :- 

Hath no need of candle, neither light of the sun, 
neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of 
God doth lighten it, and the Lamb is the light there- 
()f. Revelation xxi. 23. — xxii. 5. 

How remarkably is this prophesied by Isaiah 
with the use of the mystical number :- 
Moreover the liglit of the moon shall be as the light 
of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, 
as the light of seven days, in the day that the Lord 
bindeth up the breach of His people, and healeth the 
stroke of their wound. Isaiah xxx. 2G. 



84 THE SEVEN CANDLESTICKS, 

The solemn ritual of the OlmrcU of Israel, with 
its glorious temple, has passed away. Its types 
are fulfilled. Its place is supplied in the Chuicli 
of the new covenant, gathered from Jews and 
Gentiles, by a spiritual worship which has super- 
seded the worship through types and shadows. 
This Church has the reality of gifts and sacrifices 
which could only be foreshadowed in the Church 
of Israel; for the Messiah has come to take away 
"sacrifice and offering and burnt ottexings and of 
fering for sin " w hich were offered by the Law, 
through the offering of His body once for all. 
{Heh. X. 8-10.) And since the Lord's ascension in- 
to heaven, the sevenfold Spirit the Comforter has 
come. Acts ii. 

By its rite of Confirmation, in wiiich the juayer 
taken from Isaiah is used in confirming its lively 
members in their fit places in the body, the Church 
strikingly recalls the type of the Tabernacle and 
its seven candles^ticks. A number of her children 
made members of her body in bai>tism, assemble 
before one of her Angels -the Bishop -ready to 
confess her faith before the congregation, and anx- 
ious to exercise witli fidelity the gilts which God 
hath dealt to them. Tiie Bishop having heard 
their renewal of their bai)tismal vows, before con 
firming them with layiuf/ on of his hands, prays 
in words whicli remind them of tlie promises of 
God in their behalf. He then invokes u[)on them 
the sevenfold Spirit of God:- 

ALMIGHTY and everliving God, who hast vouch 
safed to legenerate these thy Servants by water 
and the Holy Ghost, and hast given unto them for- 
giveness of all their sins; strengthen them, we beseech 
thee, O Lord, with the Holy Ghost, the Comforter; 



THE EPIPHANY STAR. 86 

and daily increase in them tliy manifold gilts of grace; 
the spirit of (cisdom and understand im/, the spirit of 
counsel and <;hostly stren(/th, the spirit of knowledije 
and trne (/odliness; and lill them, O Lord, with the 
spirit of thy lioJy fear^ now and for ever. Amen. 



CHAPTER IX. 

THE epipiia:ny star. 



:o:- 



Where is He that is born King of the Jews ? for we 
liave seen His S^i'AR in the East, and are come to wor- 
ship Him. Matt. ii. 2. 

The wise men in the East saw the Star:- 
And, lo, the Star, which they saw in the P]ast, went 
before them, till it came and stood over where the 
young child was. When they saw the Star, they re- 
joiced with exceeding great joy. Matt. ii. 9, 10. 
Was this one of the stars of heaven, leaving its 
place, and miraculously serving this special pur- 
pose'^ Or what was iti? I>alaam took up his par- 
able and said :- 

There shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre 
shall rise out of Israel. Num. xxiv. 17. 

And St. Luke says that when the Angel of the 
Lord appeared to the shepherds to reveal to them 
the birth of Christ, ''The Glory of the Lord, shone 
round about them." Luke ii. 9. 

Perhaps, then, it was the glorious light of the 
Lord, the jShekinah, which assumed the form of a 
brilliant star, that by the literal fulfilment of 
prophesy, it might identify Him as the realization 



86 THE EPIPHANY STAR. 

of that " Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the 
glory of thy people Israel," which the prophets 
foretold, {Is. ix. 2. — xlii. 6. — xlix. 6.) and which 
holy Simeon recognized. {Luke ii. 25-32.) It 
might also point the rebuke which St. Stephen, 
quoting the prophet Amos, gave the Jews:- 
Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the 
host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the 
proi)hets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me 
slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years 
in the wilderness ? Yea, ye took up the tabernacle of 
Moloch, and the star of your god Eemphan, figures 
which ye made to worship them : and I will carry you 
away beyond Babylon. Acts vii. 42, 43. — Amos v. 25. 
Isaiah, prophesying that the "Eedeemer shall 
come to Zion," {Is. lix. 20.) exclaims :- 
Arise, shine; Hov t\\j Light is come, and the Glory 
of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the dark- 
ness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the 
people : but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His 
glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall 
come to thy Light, and kings to the brightness of thy 
rising. Isaiah Ix. 1-3. 

The Shekinah, or glorious appearance, by which 
the Lord made known His presence to men, Avas 
often in the form of a cloud, or oi' fire. It was 
temi)ered so that men in beholding it would not 
be destroyed by its brightness; as the Glory of 
the Godhead was veiled in Christ under the form 
of humanity. 

When Moses said to the Lord, " I beseech thee 
show me thy glory," the Lord said :- 
Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man 
see me, and live I will jmt thee in a clift of the 



THE EPIPHANY STAR. 87 

Kock, au(l will covei- tliee with 1113' hand while I pass 

by I will make all iny goodness pass before thee. 

Exodus xxxiii. 18-23. 

The Angel of the Lord appeared unto Moses in a 
flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked 
and, behold, the bush burned with tire, and the bush 
was not consumed. Exodus iii. 2. 

When the Lord would make a covenant with 

Abraham, whereby he should know that the land 

of Caftaan should be his inheritance :- 

He entered into a formal ritual covenant with him 
after the manner of men. It was the mcst solemn of 
all forms of ratifying" a treaty or covenabut among di- 
vers ancient nations, and among the rest of Chaldeans 
(as may be seen from Jer. xxxiv. 18.), to divide the 
carcass of a victim, as butchers divide a sheep, into 
two equal parts lengthwise. These were placed op- 
l)osite to each other, and the covenanting parties en- 
tering at the opposite extremities of the passage thus 
formed, met in the middle and tliere took the oath. 
A(Jcordingiy Abraham was directed thus to divide and 
lay (mt a heifer, a she-goat, a ram, a turtle dove, and 
a young pigeon. These he watched to protect them 
from birds of prey, and to wait the expected manifes- 
tation. As the sun was going down, the great and 
darksome horror, and the partial unconsciousness-un- 
consciousness of his clayey burden-that fell upon him, 
disclosed to Abraham that God was sensibly near. 
He heard a voice declaring to him the destiny of his 
sons for four generations, after wliich they should come 
triumphant from bondage to take possession of that 
land. The voice ceaged-the darkness deepened-and, 
lo, ii flaming fire in the midst of what seemed like the 
smoke of a furnace, pafis.ed between the pieces. This 



SS THE EPIPHANY STAR. 

was the well kuowu symbol of the Diviue presence; 
and thus was the covenant ratified by the most solemn 
sanction known in ancient times among men. Kitto. 
When Israel fled from Egypt:- 
The Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a 
cloud, to lead them the way; and by night in a pillar 
of fire, to give them light. Ex. xiii. 21. 

And when the Egyptians pursued them:- 
The Angel of God which went bei'ore the camp of 
Israel, removed, and went behind them : au?l the pil- 
lar of the cloud went from before their face, and stood 
behind them : And it came between the camp of the 
Egyptians and the camp of Israel; and it was a cloud 
and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to 
these; so that the (me came not near the other all the 
night The Lord looked unto the host of the Egyp- 
tians through the pillar of fire and of the cloud, and 
troubled the host of the Egyptians. Ex. xiv. 19-24. 
Perhaps it was in reference to this that Isaiah 
promised that if the house of Jacob would keep 
the fast whi(di the Lord hath chosen :- 
Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, 
and thine health shall spring forth speedily: and thy 
righteousness shall go before thee; and the glory of 
the Lord shall be thy rerc-ivard. Is. Iviii 0-8. 
At the giving of tlie Law to Israeli- 
Mount Sinai was altogether on a smoke, because 
the Lord descended upon it in fire. Ex. xix. liS. 
When the Lord punished Korah:- 
It came to pass when the congregation was gather- 
ed against Moses and against Aaron, that the}' look- 
ed toward the tabernacle of the congregation : and, be- 
hold, the cloud covered it and the f/lory of the Lord 
appeared. Numbers xvi. 42. 



THE EPIPHANY STAR. 89 

After Moses had set up tlie Tabernacle accord- 
ing to God's command :- 

Tlien a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, 
and tlie glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. And 
Moses was not able to enter into the tent of the con- 
gregation, because the cloud abode thereon, and the 
glory of the Lord filled the Tabernacle. Ex. xl. 34. 
When the Lord gave commandment concerning 

the details and service of the Tabernacle, He said:- 

There I will meet with the children of Israel, and 
the Tabernacle shall be sanctified by my glory. Ex. 
xxix. 43. — As Moses entered into the Tabernacle, the 
cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the 
Tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. Ex. xxxiii. 
The Lord also appeared in the cloud upon the 

mercy seat in the Tabernacle. {Levit. xvi. 2.) So 

when the Temple was consecrated :- 

When Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire 
came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt of- 
fering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the Lord 
filled the house. And the priests could not enter in- 
to the house of the Lord, because the glory of the 
Lord had filled the Lord's house. 2 Chron. vii. 1, 2. 
Solomon's temple was destroyed, and the Jews 

were carried into captivity. In the time of Cyrus 

king of Persia :- 

Eegan Zerubbabel, and Jeshua, and the remnant 
of their brethren the priests and the Levites, and all 
that were come out of the captivity unto Jerusalem; 
and appointed the Levites, from twenty years old and 
upward, to set forward the work of the house of the 

Lord But many of the priests and Levites and 

chief of tlie fathers, who were ancient men, that had 
seen the first house, when the foundation of this house 



90 THE EPIPHANY STAR. 

was laid before tlieir eyes, wept with a loud voice. 
Uzra iii. 8, 12. 

Of this new temple the jjrophet Haggai says :- 

Who is left among you that saw this house in her 
first glory? and how do ye see itno.w? is it not in 
your eyes in comparison of it as nothing'? — And tiien 

he predicts of it :- 

I will shake all nations, and the Desire of all na- 
tions shall come : and 1 will fill this house with glory, 

saith the Lord of hosts The glory of this latter 

house shall be greater than of the former, saith the 
Lord of hosts : and in this place will 1 give 2}€ace-[My 
covenant of peac^e. JSee chapter ii. Covenant of the 
Eainboic] Haggai ii. 8, 7, 9. 

When He, the Desire of all nations, the Prince 

of Peace, thus clearly predicted by Haggai, was 

transfigured on the mountain :- 

His face did shine as the sun, and His raiment was 
white as the light and a bright cloud overshadow- 
ed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which 
said, This is my beloved Son, in Avhom I am Avell 
[)leased. Matt. xvii. 2, 5. 
As St. Paul journeyed :- 

He came near Damascus: and suddenly there sinn- 
ed round about him a light from heaven-. And he fell 
to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto^him, Saul, 
Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said. Who 
art thou, Lord t And the Lord said, I am Jesus, whom 
tliou persecutest. Acts ix. 3-5. 

The Shekinah illumined the first temple, which 

was destroyed because of the wickedness of the 

Jews. The second temple, built under Zerubba- 

bel was far inferior to the former. The Ark, the 

Mercy-seat, the Urim and Thummim, were not 



THE EPIPHANY STAR. 91 

restored, and the Sliekinali did not appear in it. 
The obscuring of the operation of the Holy Spirit 
in the Church was tlius typified. The word She- 
kinah signifies, Divine i)resence, tabernacling. 
The Jews understand by it tlie presence of the 
Holy Spirit. In the Son of man the glorious She- 
kinah again illumined the Church; but through 
the wickedness of the Jews who crucified Him, it 
was again obscured. It shall burst forth in all its 
brightness when that " Bright and morning Star^^ 
{Rev. xxii. 16.) shall guide and lead us on to the 
taberna(;le of God, "an house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens." (2 Cor, v. 1.) 

When we shall see the glory of this latter house 
then will be fulfilled the type of the cloud in the 
Tabernacle and the Temple ; for the great High 
Priest who was once tabernacled in the flesh, shall 
open to us " the temple of the tabernacle of the 
testimony in heaven," as described by St. John:- 
The temple was filled with smoke from the glory of 
(xod, and from His power; and no man was able to 
enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of the 
seven angels were fulfilled. Eev. xv. 5, 8. 

The obvious application of the connection with 
our Saviour of these manifestations of God's glo- 
ry is well expressed in the Collect for The Epiph- 
any, or the Manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. 
OGOD, who by the leading of a Star didst man- 
ifest thy only begotten Sim to the Gentiles; mer- 
cifully grant that we, who know thee now by faith, 
may after this life have the fruition of thy glorious 
(xodhead, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



CHAPTER X. 

THE TEMPLE OF THE LOED. 



-:o:- 



The Lord commanded Moses :- 
Speak unto the children of Israel, that thej' bring 
me an ofi'ering: of every man that giveth it willingly 

with his heart ye shall take ray offering And let 

them make me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among 
them. According to all that I shew thee, after the 
pattern of the Tabernacle, and the pattern of all the 
instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it. E,r. 
XXV. 2-9. — These things were to be made after the 
pattern which God would show, for they Avere to 
foreshadow other things to come, as St. Paul ex- 
plains in his Epistle to the Hebrews, especially 
the ninth chapter. This symbolism pervades the 
Tabernacle, the Temple, the Church, and each in- 
dividual member of the Church. 

THE TABEKNACLE. 

The Tabernacle was constru(;ted with a view to 
its being readily set up, and easily transported 
while the Israelites journeyed towards the Holy 
Land; symbolizing the facility with which the 
('hurch sliould be borne to the uttermost parts of 
the earth. It was made of curtains of linen cov- 
ered with rams' skins, and outer coverings of 
l>adgers' skins; and of boards arranged with sock- 
ets and tenons which fitted together, and were 
confined by bars of wood. Tlie boards and bars 
were overlaid with aoid. AVitliin tlie Tabernacle 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 93 

a place was divided off from the rest by a vail of 
blue, and purple, aud s(?arlet, and line twined lin- 
en of cunning work, with cherubims. {Ex. xxvi.) 
This was called "The Most Holy," while the rest 
was the " Holy place." Around the Tabernacle 
was the enclosure called the Court. The Ark of 
the Covenant in which was deposited the testi- 
mony, or tables on which the Law Avas written, 
was idac^ed inside the vail, in the Most Holy place. 
The Mercy-seat was upon the Ark. {Ex. 16-22.) 

Among the instruments for the Tabernacle, 
was the table upon which Shew-bread was to be 
set before the Lord alway, and which stood with- 
out the vail, on the North side. {Ex. xxy. 30 — 
xxvi. 35.) Calmet says that the Hebrew for shew- 
bread signities, bread of faces, or of the face. They 
thus called the loaves of bread which the priest 
of the week placed every Sabbath day on the 
golden table, in the Sanctum, before the Lord. 
These loaves were squaie, and had four faces: 
they were covered Avith gold : they were twelve in 
number, and represented the twelve tribes of Is- 
rael. Beside these loaves stood a vessel full of 
excellent wine, which was pcmred out as a libation 
before the Lord, when the loaves were changed 
at the close of the week. Here are the bread and 
the wine, as in the offering of Melchisedec to Ab- 
raham. {Gen. xiv. 18.) 

Then there was the golden candlestick Avith the 
seven lamps. It Avas to be proA^ided Avith pure 
oil by the children of Israel, " to cause the lamp 
to burn always." Then the Altar of burnt offer- 
ing, Avitli horns on its four corners. {Ex. xxAai. 
1-21.) The Laver, of brass, stood between the 



94 THE TEMPLE OF THE LOED. 

tabernacle of the congregation and the altar. 
The Layer contained water for the priests :- 
When they go into the Tabernacle of the congrega- 
tion, they shall wash with water that they die not : 
or when they come near to the Altar to jninister. l/.r. 
XXX. 18-21. — In alhision to this David says:- 

I will wash mine hands in innocency: so will I com- 
pass thine altar, O Lord. Fsalm xxvi. 6. 

According to all that the Lord commanded him 
so did Moses :- 

Then a cloud covered the tent of the congregation, 
and the glory of the Lord tilled the Tabernacle. U.r. 
xl. 34. — Thus the SheJchiak appeared in the Taber- 
nacle. There appears to be a significance in the 
place chosen for the Tabernacle ;- 
The whole congregation of the children of Israel 
assembled together at Shiloh, and set up the Taber- 
nacle of the congregation there. And the land was 
subdued before them. Joshua xviii. 1. 

Shiloh was a city of Ephraim, about 25 miles 
North of Jerusalem, between Lebanon and Beth- 
el. The Tabernacle, with the Ark of the cove- 
nant, being set up there, it became known as the 
holy city of the Jews, in the land "which was 
subdued before them." With it then was associ 
ated the idea of the presence of the Lord among 
His peoi)le. 

About 300 years after the Tabernacle was set 
up at Shiloh, Isiael went out to battle against the 
Philistines, and being defeated, they i)resum])tu- 
ously sent and brought out the Ark, without being 
so commanded by the Ijord.. lUit the Philistines 
captured the x\rk, and it was not again taken to 
Shiloh. (1 Samuel iv.) 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LOKl). 1).") 

Jereiiiiiili isUows that great (lesohition fell upon 
Shiloli after the Ark was removed from it; and 
the Lord by tlie prophet tlireateued Jerusalem 
with the same destruction if the peo[)le continued 
to commit presumptuous sins, while they came to 
stand before Him in His house. {Jer. vii. 8-12.) 
Jacob in pronouncing his final blessing upon 
his sons, prophesied :- 

The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a law- 
giver from between hisl'eet, until shiloh come; and 
unto Him shall the gathering of the people he. Gen. 
xlix. 10. — Jesus saith:- 

When the Son of man shall come in His glory, and 
mU the holy angels with Him, then shall He sit upon 
the throne of His glory: And before Him shall he gath- 
ered all natio)is. Matt. xxv. 31, 32. 

Shiloh, or as the word signities, The Peace- 
maker, or He whose right it is, came to reign in 
Jerusalem, "tabernacled in the flesh," and was 
cut off. The Lord's presence ceased from Jeru- 
salem, its destruction soon after followed, and the 
Jews have never since had a ruler from their own 
nation ; nor have they had a tabernacle. 

THE TEMPLE AT JERUSALEM. 

To replace the temporary tabernacle by a x)er- 
manent structured, King David commanded his 
son Solomon, and all the princes of Israel :- 
Xow set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord 
\our God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary 
of the Lord God, to bring the Ark of the covenant of 
tiie Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house 
that is to be built to the name of the Lord. 1 Chron. 
xxii. 17-19. 



96 THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 

Then David gave to Solomon his son the pattern of 
— the place of the Mercy-seat, and the pattern of 
all that he had hy the Spirit, of the courts of the hous-e 
of the Lord, and of all the chambers round about. 1 
Chron. xxviii. 11, 12. 

David had prepared much gold, silver, precious 
stones, and other material, to build the house. (1 
Chron. xxix. 2.) But God said unto him:- 
Thou shalt not build an house for my name, becauj-e 
thou hast been a man of war, and hast shed blood. 
1 Chron. xxviii. 3. 

Then Solomon began to build the house of the Lord 
at Jerusalem in Mount Moriah, where the Lord a})- 
peared unto David his father, in the place that David 
had prepared in the threshing floor of Oman the Jeb- 
usite. 2 Chron. iii. 1. 

Jerusalem was in the possessions of the Jebu- 
sites, and fell to the lot of the tribe of Judah to 
which David belonged, and from which the Mes- 
siah, the Son of David, sprang. 
And the house, when it was in buihling, was built 
of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so 
that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool 
of iron heard in the house, while it was in building. 
1 Kings vi. 7. 

Against the walls of the house chambers were 
built round about. Tbe inside walls were cover- 
ed with boards of cedar carved with open flowers, 
palm trees, cherubim, &:c. In the tem])le there 
was a space for the Orac^le, or the Most Holy place. 
To set there the xVrk of the covenant of the Lord. 
And a vail hung upon chains of gold, divided the 
Oracle from tbe other part of the house. (1 Ki. vi.) 
When the Lord Jesus yielded up the Ghost 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 1)7 

upon the Cross, "The vail of the Tempk- was rent 
in twain from the top to the bottom." {Mattliew 
xxvii. 51.) Then the ohl sacrific^es were abolish- 
ed, their type being fullilled, and we now enter 
into the holiest 'through the vail that is to say 
His flesh." Hel). ix, x. 

For the doors of the temple pests were made 
of olive tree. The two doors were of lir : the leaves 
of the doors were folding; and eliernbim, palms, 
and oi)en flowers were earved on them ; and they 
were eovered with gold fitted npon the carved 
work . ( 1 Kings . vi . ) 

Instead of the Laver of the Tabernacle, there 
Avas made a molten sea to hold water. 
It stood npon twelve oxen, three looking toward the 
north, and three looking toward the west, and three 
looking toward the south, and thr^ee looking toward 
the east. 1 Kings vii. 23-26. 

These oxen probably symbolized the patient 
and laborious Apostles, whose mission it was to 
carry the water of life to the four quarters of the 
earth, 

And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained 
unto the house of the Lord: the altar of gold, and the 
table of gold, whereupon the shew-bread was, and the 
candlesticks of pure gold .... and the censers of pure 
gold. 1 Kings vii. 48-51. 

Then all things were put in their place. And 
Solomon assembled all the chief men:- 
That they might bring up the Ark of the covenant 

of the Lord out of the city of David, which is Zion 

And it came to pass, when the jjriests were come out 
of the holy place, that the cloud filled the house of 
the Lord, so that the priests could not stand to minis- 



98 THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 

ter because of the cloud: for the glory of the Lord had 
filled the house of the Lord. 1 Kings viii. 1-11. 
Thus the SheMnah appeared in the Temple, as 
it had done in the Tabernacle. 



In the Prophets, and the Book of Eevelation 
are many allusions to the Church in glory, which 
throw light on the typical meaning of the tabern- 
acle and temple, and their instruments, while the 
latter in turn serve to make better understood the 
mysteries of the prophetic and Apocalyptic vision. 
I John saw ^the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming- 
down from God out of heaven, i)repared as a bride a- 
dorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice 
out of heaven saying. Behold, the tabernacle of God 
is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they 
shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with 

them, and be their God And there came unto me 

one of the seven angels and talked with me, say- 
ing. Come hither, I will shew thee the Bricle^ the 
Lamb's Wife. And he carried me away in the Spir- 
it to a great and high mountain, (typified by Mount 
Zion) and shewed me that great city, the holy Jeru- 
salem, descending out of heaven from God, Having 
the glory of God: and her light was like unto a Stone 
moHt precious^ even like a jasper stone, clear as crys- 
tal. And had a wall great and high, and had twelve 
gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names writ- 
ten thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes 
of the children of Israel: On the east three gates; on 
the north three gates; on the south three gates; and 
on the west three gates. [Like the twelve oxen bear- 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 99 

iiig- the molten sea of the Temple.] And tlie wall of 
the city had twelve foundations, and in them the 
names of the twelve Apostles of the Lamb. [The 
household of God; built upon the foundation of the 
Apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being 
the chief corner stone. Fph. ii. 21, 22.] — And the 
building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city 
was pure gold, like unto clear glass. And the founda- 
tions of tlie wall of the city were garnished with all 
manner of precious stmies — And the twelve gates 
were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one 
pearl: [one pearl of great price. Matt. xiii. 45.] and 
the street of tbe city was pure gold, as it were trans- 
parent glass. Ken. xxi. 1-21. 

All this was typehed by the glory and beauty 
of Solomon's temple. The signihcance of its be- 
ing of stone made ready before it was brought 
thither, is perhaps shown by Daniel : 
Thou sawest till that a Stone Avas cut out without 
hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were 
of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. Daw. ii. 
Ezekiel thus speaks of the Church :- 
I clothed thee also with broidered work, and shod 
thee with badger^s shin, and I girded thee about with 
line linen, and I covered thee with silk. I decked thee 
also with ornaments, and 1 put bracelets upon thy 
hands, and a chain on thy neck. And I j)ut a jewel 
on thy forehead, and earrings in thine ears, and a 
beautiful crown upon thine head. Thus wast thou 
decked with gold and silver; and thy raiment was of 

tine linen, and silk, and broidered w^ork and thou 

wast exceeding beautiful. UzeJc. xvi. 10-13. 

The Oriental women were especially particular as 
to the covering of their feet. The allusion to the bad- 



100 THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 

ger skin sandals, m connection with other ornaments 
of the bride, represent the varieties of wealth, luxury 
and hononr, which were bestowed by God upon the 
Jewish people, ir. Loivth. 

Here is 8t. John's vision of the Bride :- 

Let US be glad and rejoice, and give hononr to Him: 
for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and His Wife 
hath made lierself ready. And to her was granted 
that she should be arrayed in tine linen, clean and 
white : for the line linen is the righteousness of sahits. . . 
And the armies which were in heaven followed Him 
upon white horses, clothed in tine linen, white and 
clean. Iter. xix. 7-14. 

He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in 
white raiment. Hev. iii. 5. 

And David draws this beautiful picture of her:- 

Unto the Son He saith: {Heb. i. 8, 9.) Thy throne, 
O God, is for ever and ever: the sceptre of thy king- 
dom is a right sceptre. Thou lovest righteousness, 
and hatest wickedness: therefore God, thy God, hath 
anointed thee with the oil of gladness above thy fel- 
lows Upon thy right hand did stand the Queen in 

[a vesture of, ps. ver.] gold of Oi)hir. Hearken, () 
Daughter, and incline thine ear; forget also thine own 
people, and thy father's house; So shall the King 
greatly desire tliy beauty: for He is thy Lord; and 
worship thou Him The King's Daughter is all glo- 
rious within: her clothing is of wrought gold. She 
shall be brought unto the King in raiment of needle- 
work, Fsalm xlv. 6-14. 

The angel stood, saying, Kise, and measure the 
Temple of God, and the Altar, and them that worshij) 
therein. But the Court which is without the Temple 
h^ave out, and measure it not; for it is given unto the 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 101 

(xeiitiles: mid the lioly city shall they tread under 
foot forty and two months. Kev. xi. 1, 2. 

Perhaps this passage ma^^ mean that, of those 
who belong in the temple, and worship at its al- 
tar, there can be no doubt; their condition can be 
easily understood. The Gentiles, or heathen, 
would for a season assault the Church, but their 
attacks wouhl be confined to the outer courts, and 
would not reach the inner temple. Eventually 
they would be driven (mt of that part also, and 
have no more power to do harm. The Lord Jesus 
•taught a similar lesson when :- 
He went into the temple of God, and cast out all 
them that sold and bought in the Temple, and over- 
threw the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats 
of them that sold doves. And said unto them. It is 
written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; 
but ye liave made it a den of thieves. Matt. xxi. 12. 
Perhaps the Chambers round about the temple, 
typelied wliat the Lord Jesus said :- 

In my Father's bouse are many mansions I go 

to prepare a place for you. John xiv. 2. 

The Temple of God was opened in heaven, and there 
was seen in His Temple tlie ArJc of His testament. 
Revelation xi. 19. 

I saw under the Altar the souls of them that were 
slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony which 
they held. Rev. vi. 9. 

The Cherubim are represented by four beasts 
round about the throne :- 

Which rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, 
holy. Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is 
to come. Rev. iv. 6-8. The four beasts and four and 
twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, having every 



102 THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 

one of thein harps, aud golden vials full of odours, [or 
incense,] wLicli are tlie i)rayers of saints. Rev. v. 8. 

And another angel came and stood at the altar, 
having a golden censer-^ and there was given unto him 
much incense, that he should offer it with the prayers 
of all saints upon the golden altar which was before 
the throne. Rev. viii. 3. 

The seven candlestieks which thou sawest are the 
seven churches. Rev. i. 20. And there were seve^i} 
lamps of fire burning before the throne, which are the 
seven spirits of God. Rev. iv. 5. 

And I saw another sign in heaven, great and mar- 
vellous, seven angels having the seven last plagues; 
for in them in lilled up the wrath of God. And I saw 
as it were a sea of glass mingled with lire: and them 
that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over 
his image, and over his mark, and over the number 
of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the 
harps of God. And they sing the song of Moses the 
servant of God, and the song of the Lamb — And 
after that I looked, and, behold, the temple of the tab- 
ernacle of the testimony in heaven was opened: And 
the seven angels came out of the temple, having the 
seven plagues, clothed in pure and tvhite llneot^ and 
having their bi easts girded with golden girdles. [The 
embroidered girdle of the ephod-the priest's garments 

shall be of gold, of blue, and purple, and scarlet, 

and line twined linen. Ex. xxviii. 8.] And one of the 
four beasts gave unto the seven angels seven golden 
vials full ol the wrath of God, who liveth for ever and 
ever. And the temple was lilled with smolce from the 
Glory of God, and from His power. And no man was 
able to enter into the temple, till the seven plagues of 
the seven angels were fullilled. Rev. xv. 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 



lo:^ 



So the Shekinali, tlie Glory of the Lord, liad 
tilled tlie Taberuacle aud the Temple. 

The molteu sea held pure water to cleanse the 
priests before they ministered in the temple; so, 
perhaps, the sea of glass signifies the clear and 
transparent purity of the saints who have gotten 
the victory over sin, on which they stand in safe- 
ty when the wrath of God is poured out upon the 
wicked. 

The Ark of the Covenant, the Court of the 
Lord's house, the Chambers, the golden Altar, the 
Cherubim, the Censer and incense, the seven Can- 
dlesticks, the Sea of glass or the Laver, the holy 
Vestments, and the Sbekinah, which were shown 
by the Spirit to Moses and to David as the pat- 
tern of the Sanctuary and all the instruments 
thereof, are thus revealed. Only the Yail is not 
seen in the heavenly city, for its type was fulfill- 
ed wben, at the Lord's death, it was rent from 
the tojj to the bottom. 

St. John also shows the true worship before the 
Throne, and the emblems of triumph over sin :- 
I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude — of all nations 
and kindreds, and people, aud tongues, stood before 
the Throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with ivhite 
rohes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud 
voice, saying. Salvation to our God which sitteth np- 
on the Throne, and unto the Lamb.... And one of the 
Elders answered, saying unto me. What are these 
which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came 
they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou knowest. And 
he said to me, These are they which came out of great 
tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made 
them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are 



104 THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 

they before the throue of God, and serve Him day and 
night in His temple : and He that sitteth on the throne 
shall dwell among them. Rev. vii. 9-15. 

The palms signified victory through righteous- 
ness, and were typefted by the palm trees carved 
on the doors of the Temple. 

THE CHURCH MILITANT. 

Isaiah says to the Church :- 
Enlarge the place of t\iy tent, and let them stretch 
forth the curtains of thine habitations: spare not, 
lengthen thy cords, and strengthen thy stakes; For 
thou shalt break forth on the right hand and on the 
left; and thy seed shall inherit the Gentiles — O thou 
afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, be- 
hold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay 
thy foundations with sapphires. And I will make 
thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, 
and all thy borders of pleasant stones. Is. liv. 2-12. 
This is evidently a simile borrowed from the 
Tabernacle and the Temple, by which the Church 
is encouraged to work on patiently, amid all dis- 
couragements. As the curtains and cords of the 
Tabernacle were enlarged into the Temple, so 
shall she be extended until she attain her glory. 

The construction of the Church is thus describ- 
ed by David :- 

Open to me the gates of righteousness; I will go in- 
to them, and I will praise the Lord; this gate of the 
Lord, into which the righteous shall enter. I will 
praise thee; for thou hast heard me, and art become 
my saU-ation. The Stone which the builders refused 
is become the head stone of the corner. Ps. cxviii. 11). 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 105 

And St. Paul says :- 

The liead, eveu Christ: IVoiu whom the whole body 
fitly joined Uxjether and coin[)aeted by that which ev- 
enj joint suppliethj ac(;ordiiig to the effectual work- 
ing ill the measure of every part, maketh increase of 
the body unto the edifying of itself in love. Eph. iv. 15. 

Christ is the head of the Church: and He is the 
Saviour of the body .... We are members of His body, 
of His flesh, and of His bones. Eph. v. 23, 30. 

Here is the Zarer through which we become 

members :- 

By one Spirit we are all haptized into one body, 
whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond 
or free; and have been all made to drink into one 
Spirit. For the body is not one member, but many. . . 
Xow ye are the body of Christ, and members in par- 
ticular. 1 Cor. 13, 14, 27. 

Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for 
it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the 
washing of water by the Word. Eph. v. 25, 26. 

Jesus answered. Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Ex- 
(;ept a man be horn of water and of the Spirit, he can 
not enter into the kingdom of God. John iii. 5. 
Here is the Temple :- 

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of 
the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, 
and ye are not your own 'I 1 Cor, vi. 19. 

This is the way this temple is to be built :- 

Ye are God's building. According to the grace of 
God which is given unto me, as a wise masterbuikler, 
I have laid the foundation, and another buildeth there- 
on. But let every man take heed how he buildeth 
thereupon. For other foundation can no man lay than 
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Kow if any man 



106 THE TEMPLE OF THE LOED. 

build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, 
wood, hay, stubble; every man's work shall be made 
manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall 
be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's 
work of what sort it is. 1 Cor, iii. 9-15. 
Here are the Fr tests of this temple :- 

Ye shall be named the priests of tbe Lord; men shall 
call you the ministers of our God. Isaiah Ixi. 0. 

But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, 
an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew 
forth the praises of Him who hath called you out of 
darkness into His marvellous light. 1 Feter ii. 9. 

These are the sacrifices to be offered in this tem- 
ple :- 

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit : a broken 
and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise. 
Fsalm li. 17. 

I beseech ycm therefore, brethren, by the mercies of 
God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, ho- 
ly, acceptable unto God, wliich is your reasonable 
service. Mom. xii. 1. 

Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pil- 
grims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against 
the soul. 1 Fet. ii. 11. — Forasmuch as ye know that 
ye were not redeemed with corruptible things — but 
with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb with- 
out blemish and without spot. 1 Fet. i. 18, 19. 

We have an Altar, whereof they have no right to 

eat which serve the Tabernacle Jesus, that He 

might sanctify the pe()i)le with His own blood, sufter- 
ed witliout the gate.... By Him therefore let us offer 
the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the 
fruit of our lii)s, giving thanks to His name. But to 
do good, and to coinmunicnite, forget not : for with such 



THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 107 

sdcrifices God is well pleased. Heb. xiii. 10-1(>. 
St. Paul says of the old dispensation :- 

The priests went always into the first taliernacle, 
accomplishing the service of God. But into the sec- 
oud went the High Priest alone once every year, not 
without blood, Avhich he offered for himself, and for 
the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signi- 
fying, that the tvay into the holiest of all was not yet 
made manifest, while as the tirst tabernacle was yet 
standing : Which Avas a figure for the time then pres- 
ent, in Avhicli were offered both gifts and sacrifices, 
that could not make him that did the service perfect, 
as pertaining to the conscience. Heb. ix. G-9. 
But the Lord Jesus says :- 

I am the icay^ the truth, and the life : no man Com- 
eth unto the Father, but by me. John xiv. 6. 

I am the door : by me if any man enter in, he shall 
be saved, and shall go in and out, and shall find pas- 
ture. John X. 9. 

These are the holy garments:- 

I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, m^' soul shall be 
joyful in my God; for He hath clothed me with the 
garments of salvation, He hath covered me with the 
robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself 
with ornaments, and as a bride adorneth herself Avith 
jCAvels. Isaiah Ixi. 10. 

Here is the reappearance of the ^heldnah in 

the Church : Jesus saith :- 

I am (!ome a light into the Avorld, that AvhosocA^er 
believeth on me should not abide in darkness. John 
xii. 40. — And St. Paul says:- 

God, Avho commanded the light to shine out of dark- 
ness, hath shined in our hearts, to giA^e the light of 
the knoAvledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus 



108 THE TEMPLE OF THE LORD. 

Christ. 2 Cor, iv. 6. 

The Lord thus warDS us concerning tlie light 
of His Holy Spirit, that true Shekinah, which 
should ever shine in our hearts and lives :- 
Take heed that the light which is in tliee be not 
darkness. If thy whole body therefore be full of 
light, having no part dark, the whole shall be full of 
light, as when the bright shining of a candle doth 
give thee light. Luke xi. 35, 30. 

When a person through the laying on of hands 
by the Bishop has been made a priest over his 
own body, which is now a "temple of the Holy 
Ghost," no one but the great High Priest can en- 
ter into the most holy place of his inmost heart. 
There he must continually offer the appointed 
sacrifices, that tliey who approach the courts oH 
his outer life may perceive in him the light of the 
Spirit, and be illumined by his example. Such 
persons are good members of the body the Church, 
all fitly joined together to form the body of which 
Christ is the head and the corner stone. 

For the Church of which this is the realization 
we are thus taught to pray in the second Collect 
for Good Friday :- 

ALMIGHTY and everlasting God, by whose Spirit 
the whole body of the Church is governed and 
san(}tified; receive our supplications and prayers, 
wliich Ave offer before thee for all estates of men in 
thy holy Church, that every member of the same, in 
bis vocation and minis! ly, may truly and godly serve 
tliee, through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ 
Amen, 



CHAPTER XI. 

HOLY JEEUSALEM. 



-:o:- 



In both tlie Old and tlie New Testament the 
City of David, Jerusalem, and Mount Sion, are 
often used to typify tlie Cliurcb of the saints, the 
Lamb's Bride. St. Paul expressly speaks of the 
allegorical signifi(;ance of Jerusalem :- 
It is written, that Abraham had two sons; the one 
by a bond-maid, the other by a free-woman. But he 
who w as of the bond-w oman, was born after the flesh ; 
but he of the -free-woman was by promise. Which 
things are an allegory: for these are the two cove- 
nants; the one from the Mount Sinai, which gender- 
eth to bondage, which is Agar. For this Agar is 
Mount Sinai in Arabia, and answereth to Jerusalem 
Avhich now is, and is in bondage with her children. 
But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is the 
mother of us all. Gal. iv. 22-26. 

David took [from the Jebusites] the stronghold of 
Zion : the same is the city of David. And in Jerusa- 
lem he reigned thirty and three years over Israel and 
Judah. 2 Sain. v. 7, 5. 

After he had established his own house, David 
brought up the Ark of God from Gibeah to the 
city of David :- 

And they brought in the Ark of the Lord and set it 
in his place, in the midst of the tabernacle that Da- 
vid had pitched for it. 2 Sam. vi. 

The following are a few^ of the passages from 
the Psalms in which Zion and Jerusalem are spo- 
ken of:- 



110 HOLY JERUSALEM. 

Great is the Lord, aad greatly to be praised in the 
city of our God, in the mountain of His holiness. 
Beautiful for situation, the joy of the whole earth, is 
Mount Zion, on the sides of the North, the city of the 
great King. God is known in her palaces for a ref- 
uge As we have heard, so have we seen in the city 

of the Lord of hosts, in the city of our God: God will 
establish it for ever. Psalm xlviii. 1-8. 

Do good in thy good pleasure unto Zion: build tliou 
the walls of Jerusalem. Then shalt thou be pleased 
with the sacrifices of righteousness. Fs. li. 18, 19. 

Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. 
Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact togeth- 
er: whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord 
unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the 
name of the Lord. For there are set thrones of judg- 
ment, tlje thrones of the house of David. Pray for the 
peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. 
Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy 
[>alaces. Fsalm cxxii. 

Blessed be the Lord out of Zion, which dwelleth at 
Jerusalem. Fsalm cxxxv. 21. 

His foundation is in the Holy Mountains. The Lord 
loveth the gates of Zion more than all the dwellings 
of Jacob. Fsalm Ixxxvii. 1, 2. 

The "gates of Zion" undoubtedly refer to those 
beautiful gates of "that great city, the hol^' Jeru- 
salem," seen by St. John. Fev.^xxi. 

The expression "The Lord loveth the gates of 
Zi(Ht more than all the dwellings of Jacob," is i)e- 
culiar. What does it meanf Is it possible that 
the liOrd loves the ways of one particular church 
which in all things conforms stri(5tly to the teach- 
ing of His Word, more than He does those of 



r 



HOLY JERUSALEM. Ill 

others wliicU believe in Him, and yet in some mat- 
ters choose tlieir own interpretation of the Word ? 
Are the "dwellings of Jacob" like the "little ships" 
which were witli Him, while He was in the shipf 
The Lord hath chosen Zion : He hath desired it for 
Ilis habitation. This is my rest for ever: here will I 
dwell; for I have desired it. Fsalm cxxxii. 13, 14. 

Let Israel rejoice in Him that made him: let the 
children of Zion be joyful in their King. Pa. cxlix. 2. 
David thns more distinctly prophesies of Him 
who is the Head of the Church :- 
Yet have I set my King- upon my holy hill of Zion. 
I will declare the decree : the Lord hath said unto me, 
Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee. Fa. 
ii. 6, 7.- Acts xiii. S3-Heb. i. 5. 

The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right 
hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The 
Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion : 
rule thou in the midst of thine enemies. Fs. ex. 1, 2. 
The Prophets also use the same figurative lan- 
guage in reference to the Church of God:- 
The Lord hath founded Zion, and the poor of His 
people shall trust in it. Isaiah xiv. 32. 

The ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to 
Zion with songs, and everlasting joy upon their heads: 
they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and 
sighing shall flee away. Is. xxxv. 10. 

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up in- 
to tlie high mountain: O Jerusalem, that bringest good 
tidings, lift u]) thy voice with strength; lift it up, be 
not afraid ; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your 
God — He shall feed His flock like a shepherd. Is. 
xl. 3, 9, 11. 

The "high mountain" is the Church, of which 



112 HOLY JERUSALEM. 

Isaiali and Micah prophesy :- 

It shall come to pass in the last days, that the moun^ 
tain of the Lord's house shall be established in the 
top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the 
hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many 
people shall go and say. Come ye, and let us go up to 
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of 
Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will 
walk in His paths : for out of Zion shall go forth the 
law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem. Is. 
ii. 2, 3.-Micah iv. 1, 2. 

And the Eedeemer shall come to Zion, and unto 
them that turn from transgression in Jacob, saith the 
Lord. Js. lix. 20. 

St. Paul thus quotes this passage :- 

As it is written, There shall come out of Sion the 
Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Ja- 
cob. Romans xi. 26. 

Awake, awake ; put on thy strength, O Zion ; put on 

thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city 

How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him 
that bringetb good tidings, tliat publisheth peace; 
that bringeth good tidings of good, that publisheth 
salvation; that sayeth unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. 
Isaiah lii. 1, 7. 

The glory of Lebanon shall come unto thee They 

shall call thee, The city of the Lord, tlie Zion of the 

Holy One of Israel and thou shalt know that I the 

Lord am thy Saviour, and thy Kedeemer, the mighty 

One of Jacob Thou shalt call thy walls Salvation, 

and thy gates Praise. The sun shall be no more thy 

light by day but the Lord shall be unto thee an 

everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Is. Ix. 13-lJ). 
St. John specially api)lies this prophecy to the 



HOLY JERUSALEM. 1V^ 

Lamb's Wife. Eev. xxi. 23. 
St. Paul writes in tlie same strain to the Jews, 
and applies the^e predictions of tlie Eedeemer, 
the Deliverer, the Sayioiir, and the King, to the 
Lord Jesus :- 

But ye are come unto Mount Sion, and unto the 
city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and 
to an innumerable company of angels. To the gener- 
al assembly and church of tlie firstborn, which are 
written in heaven, and to God the Judge of all, and 
to the spirits of just men made perfect, And to Jesus 
the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood 
of sprinkling, that speaketh better things than that 
of Abel. Heh. xii. 22-24. 

In accordance with this allegorical teaching, 
our Lord and Saviour offered Himself as the great 
sacrifice of atonement at Jerusalem, fulfilling the 
type of the Passover. After His resurrection. He 
opened the understandings of His Apostles :- 
That they might understand the Scriptures, and 
said unto them. Thus it is written, and thus it behov- 
ed Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third 
day : And that repentance and remission of sins should 
be preached in His name among all nations, hegin- 
ning at Jerusalem. Luke xxiv. 45-47. 
And He commanded them:- 
Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be en- 
(bied with power from on high. Lulie xxiv. 49. 
It was in Jerusalem that the Apostles received 
the Holy Ghost, {Acts i. 11.) and ^'Strangers of 
Rome"' were there, and heard them speak in their 
own tongue. Acts n. 10. 

It was in Jerusalem that they began to work 
miracles and to preach, causing many to believe. 



114 ' HOLY JERUSALEM. 

It was in Jerusalem that tliey chose the seveu 
deacons :- 

And when they had prayed, they laid their hands 
on them. And the word of God increased; and the 
number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem great- 
ly; and a great company of the Priests were obedient 
to the faith. Acts vi. 1-7. 

It was in Jerusalem that the protomartyr, St. 
Stephen, was put to death because he testified to 
the truth as it is in Jesus. AcU vii. 

When certain of the disciples went out as mis- 
sionaries to the Gentiles in other places :- 
The hand of the Lord was witli them : and a great 
number believed, and turned unto the Lord. Then 
tidiiigs of these things came unto the ears of the 
Church which was in Jerusalem: and they sent forth 
Barnabas. Acts xi. 21, 22. 

When a grave question under the Jewish law a- 
rose among the disciples who were establishing 
the Church at Antioch:- 

They determined that Paul and Barnabas and cer- 
tain of them, should go up to Jerusalem, unto the A- 

postles,3-nd elders, about this question And when 

they were come to Jerusalem, they were received of 
the Church, and of the Apostles and elders; and they 

declared all things that God had done with them 

And the Apostles and elders came together, for to 
consider of this matter. 

After discussion, St. James as presiding Bish- 
o[), i)ronounced his sentence; and that judgment 
was sent out to Antioch a^ that which seemed 
good to the Holy Ghost and to them. Acts xv. 

From this it appears that the first ( ■ounc'il of the 
Cliurch was held at Jerusalem. 



HOLY JERUSALEM. Ur) 

After these things the chief rulers of the Jews 
couspired to kill Paul at Jerusalem, and he was 
protected against thein in the castle by the lio- 
mau soldiers. 

And the night following, the Lord stood by him, 
and said. Be of good cheer, Paul: for as tliou hast tes- 
tified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou bear witness 
also at Rome. Acts xxiii. 11. 

Paul, having appealed to Ctesar, was taken to 
Kome. There he called together the chief of the 
Jews, and explained to them the cause of his ar- 
rest. And the Jews in liome said unto him:- 
We neither received letters out of Judtea concern- 
ing thee, neither any of the brethren that came shew- 
ed or spake any harm of thee. But we desire to hear 
of thee what thou thiukest: for as concerning this sect, 
we know that every where it is spoken against. And 
when tliey had appointed him a day, there came many 
to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and 
testified the kingdom of God, persuading them con- 
cerning Jesus, both out of the law of Closes, and out 
of the prophets, from morning till evening. And 
some believed the things which were spoken, and some 
believed not. Acts xxviii. 17-21. 

So one went from the Apostles and elders at 
Jerusalem to teach the do(;trines of the Church 
to the people at Eome. 

Must we explain away all this allegorical and 
historical teaching concerning the Church "built 
upon the Apostles and Prophets, Jesus Christ 
Himself being the chief corner stone," and sub- 
stitute for the Church beginning at Jerusalem, a 
church beginning at Eome i Does the Church of 
Rome, with all her traditions, fulfil the type of 



116 THE KING OF ISRAEL. 

Jerusalem the mother of us all? For many years 
she sought by inciting the Crusades, to gain ]>er- 
manent possession of Jerusalem which now is. 
Had she succeeded she might have established 
there her "infallible" See. The fact that all at- 
tempts to wrest Jerusalem from the Moslems have 
failed, seems to indicate that the allegory was not 
thus to be realized. Tlie Temple was destroyed, 
and its Court given over to the Gentiles to be 
trodden under foot by them, perhaps to show that 
the sacrifices were no longer to be offered in any 
l^articular place, but that the Father should be 
worshipped, as Jesus told the woman of Samaria, 
"Neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem," 
but "In spirit and in truth: For the Father seek- 
eth such to worship Him." John iv. 21-24. 

In the Collect for St. Mark's Day we are thus 
taught to pray :- 

O ALMIGHTY God, who hast instructed thy holy 
Church with the heavenly doctrine of thy Evan- 
gelist Saint Mark; give us grace, that being not like 
children carried away with every blast of vain doc- 
trine, Ave may be established in the truth of thy holy 
Gospel, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



CHAPTER XII. 

THE KING OF ISEAEL. 



-:o:- 



In uttering the words, " I gave thee a king in 
mine anger and took him away in my wrath," 
{Hosea xiii. 11.) the Prophet probably alludes im- 



THE KI]N'G OF ISRAEL. 117 

mediately to Saul a^ the king ; but lie may liave 

liad pi'oplietically a I'ar grander meauiiig. 

When Samuel was old all the elders of Israel 

gathered themselves together, and came to Samuel 
unto Kamali, and said unto him, Behold, thou art old 
and thj' sons walk not in thy ways : now make us a 
Mng to judge us like all the natious. But the thing 

<lispleased Samuel And Samuel prayed unto the 

Lord. And the Lord said unto Samuel, Hearken un- 
to the voice of the peol)le in all that they say unto 
thee: for they have not rejected thee, but they have 
rejected Me, that I should not reign over them. 1 
Samuel viii. 1-7. — Then Samuel warned the people 

that their king would oppress and despoil them. 

Nevertheless, the people refused to obey the voice 
of Samuel: and they said, Nay; but we will have a 
king over us; that we also may be like all the nations; 
and that our king may judge us, and go out before us, 
and tight our battles. 1 Samuel viii. 

Then Samuel rebuked the peoi)le, telling them 

how ofteu the Lord had delivered them from their 

enemies; yet they insisted that they would have 

a king to reign over them, when the Lord their 

God was their King. 1 Samuel xii. 
Accordingly, the Lord caused Saul, an ideal 

\varrior and leader after the fancy of the people, 

to be chosen king, and Samuel anointed him king 

over Israel. 

And Samuel said to all the people. See ye him whom 
the Lord hath chosen, that there is none like him a- 
mong all the people ? And all the people shouted and 
said, God save the king! 1 Samuel x. 24. 

But Saul offended the Lord in doing wickedly, 

and in oppressing the people. So, when war was 



118 THE Kma OF ISRAEL. 

raging with the Philistines :- 

The battle went sore against Saul, and the archers 

hit him; and he was sore wounded of the arehers 

therefore Saul took a sword and fell upon it So 

Saul died, and his three sons. 1 Samuel xxxi. 1-6. 
Thus God "took away in his wrath" this king 
whom He had given Israel "in His anger." 

About 350 years after Saul's death, the Lord by 
His prophet said :- 

I will be thy King: where is any other tbat may 
save tbee in all thy cities and t\\j judges, of whom thou 

saidst, Give me a king and princes? I will rah- 

som them from the i)ower of the grave, I will redeem 
them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; () 
grave, I will be thy destruction. Hos. xiii. 10, 14. 
This is a distinct prophecy of "Jesus of JS^az- 
AKETH THE KiNG OF THE Jewsj" {John xix. 19.) 
of whom St. Paul, in the portion of Scripture ap- 
pointed by the Church to be read in "The order 
for the burial of the dead," says:- 
O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy 
victory? Tlie sting of death is sin; and the strength 
of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, Avhich giv- 
eth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 
Cor. XV. 55-57. 

Through a long course of years the kings of 
Judah and of Israel led their people to commit 
frightful sins, until at length God brought upon 
them all the judgments which He had threaten- 
ed by prophets, judges, and seers, to induce them 
to turn away from tlieir inicpiities. 

Then God once more oliered Himself to them 
as their King. In His infinite love He sent His 
only Son to them. He came in the form of a man 



THE KIj^JG OF ISRAEL. Ill) 

liaviug by regular descent the legal right to reign 
over them ; for as Calmet shows from the two gen- 
ealogies in Matthew i, and Luke iii, His mother 
Mary was the daughter of Heli, who was descend- 
ed from David through Nathan ; and His reputed 
father Joseph was likewise descended from David 
through Solomon. But, again failing to appre- 
hend the divine purpose of their King, whicli was 
to give them everlasting life, they rejected Him;- 
But they cried out, Away with Him, away with Him 
taucify Him. Pilate saith unto them. Shall I crucify 
y<mr King? The Chief Priests answered. We have no 
king but Caisar. John xix. 15. 

And now came the fultilment of Jacob's proph- 
ecy {Gen. xlix. 10.) "The Sceptre shall not depart 
from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet 
until Shiloh come." Shiloh-He whose right it is- 
as says Ezekiel :- 

Exalt Him that is low, and abase him that is high. 
1 will overturn, overturn, overturn it: and it shall be 
no more, until He come whose right it is: and I will 
give it Him. Ezek. xxi. 26, 27. 

Sinc^e the Jews rejected Jesus of Nazareth t'of 
their King, the Lord God hath taken away tbe 
sceptre from their nation. They have no civil ru- 
ler, judge, or lawgiver of their own, but are sub- 
ject to those of the nations among whom they are 
dispersed. Thus God hath taken away their king 
in His wrath, because they rejected Him that He 
should not reign over them. It seems to be with 
a purpose that this passage from Hosea is appoint- 
ed by the Church to be read on the second Sun- 
day' of the Easter season. 
As if to teacli us our duty to have cliarity to- 



120 THE WORD. 

wards the Jews, tlie Lord prayed for them while 
they crucified Him: "Father forgive themj for 
they know uot what they do." [Luke xxiii. 34.) 
So, in commemorating His precious death on each 
Good Friday, the Church thus prajs for them:- 

MEECIF UL God, who hast made all men, and 
hatest nothing that tliou hast made, nor desirest 
the death of a sinner, but rather that he should be 

converted and live; have mercy upon all Jews and 

take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and 
contempt of thy word; and so fetch them home, bless- 
ed Lord, to thy flock, that they may be saved among 
the remnant of the true Israelites, and be made one 
fold under one Shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who 
liveth and reigneth with thee and the Holy Spirit, 
one God, world without end. Amen. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

THE WOED. 



:o:- 



As the purpose of the Bible is to make known 
to man the Lord Jesus Christ, the author of sal- 
vation, we may naturally expect that the Word 
of which we so often read, may sometimes mean 
that very "Word" who was made flesh and dwelt 
among us. 

Moses thus begins his record of the Creation :- 
In the beginning God created the heaven and the 
eartli. Gen. i. 1. 

And David says:- 
By the Word of the Lord were the heavens made ; 
and all the host of them bv the Breath of His mouth. 



THE WORD. 121 

Psalm xxxiii. 6. — St. Jolin says :- 

In the beginning was the Word, and tbe Word was 

with God, and the Word was God All things were 

made by Him ; and without Him was not anything 
made that was made. He was in the world, and the 
world was made by Him. John i. 1-10. 
And St. Paul declares :- 

Through faith we understand that the worlds were 
formed by the W^ord of God, so that things which 
are seen were not made of things which do appear. 

Heh. xi. 3. — By the same faith we may understand 

other passages relating to the Word. 
While Samuel was yet a child :- 

The Word of the Lord was precious, there was no 

open vision Samuel did not yet know the Lord, 

neither was the Word of the Lord yet revealed unto 
him. 1 Sam. iii. 1, 7. 

But the Lord called to Samuel and told him 

what He would do to the house of Eli. 

And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him .... 
And all Israel knew that Samuel was established to 
be a prophet of the Lord. And the Lord appeared 
again in Shiloh: for the Lord revealed Himself to 
Samuel in Shiloh by the Word of the Lord. 1 Sam, iii. 
After the Angel of the Lord had appeared to 

him as he lay under the juniper tree, Elijah went: 

Unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thith- 
er unto a cave, and lodged there ; and, behold, the 
Word of the Lord came to him, and He said unto him. 
What doest thou here, Elijah? 

Then came the wind, and the earthquake, and 

the fire: 

And after the fire a still small voice And the 

Lord said unto him. Go, return on thy way to the 



122 THE WORD. 

wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, an- 
oint Hazael to be king over Syria. 1 Kings xix. 4-15. 
Here the Word is alluded to as a person-He 

said unto him. 
David says :- 

Eemember the Word unto thy servant, upon which 
thou hast caused me to hope — They that fear thee 
will be glad when they see me; because I have hoped 
in thy Word — This is my comfort in my affliction: 
for thy Word hath quickened me. Fs. cxix. 40-74. 
But the Lord Jesus saith:- 

As the Father raiseth up the dead, and quicJceneth 
them; even so the Son quickeneth whom He will. 

John V. 21. — And St. Paul says:- 

The lirst man Adam was made a living soul; the 
last Adam [Christ] was made a quichening Spirit. 1 

Cor. XV. 45. — David says:- 

Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto 
niy path. Fsalm cxix. 105. 

And Isaiah thus predicts the Saviour :- 

For Zion's sake will I not hold my peace, and for 
Jerusalem's sake I will not rest, until the righteous- 
ness thereof go forth as brightness, and the iSalvation 
tlieieof as a lamp that burnetii. And the Gentiles 
shall see thy righteousness. Isaiah Ixii. 1, 2. 
St. Luke says of the Lord Jesus :- 

For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have 
set Thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that Thou should- 
est be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. And 
when the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, and 
glorified the Word of the Lord: and as many as were 
ordained to eternal life believed. And the Word of 
the Lord w«as published throughout all the region. 
Acts xiii. 47-49. 



THE WORD. 123 

And St. Peter declares :- 

We liave also a more sure \Yord of prophecy; wliere- 
iinto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a lUiht that 
shiueth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the 
day Star arise in your hearts. 2 Peter i. 19. 
David says:- 

I will worship toward thy holy teini)le, and praise 
thy name for thy loving- kindness and for thy truth: 
for thou hast magnified thy Word above all thy 
name. F,salm cxxxviii. 2. — And St. Paul says:- 

That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father 
of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and 

revelation in the knowledge of Him which He 

wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the 
dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heav- 
enly places, far above all principality, and power, and 
might, and every name that is named, not only in this 
world, but also in that which is to come. Uph. i. 17. 
And again he says:- 

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted Him, and 
given Him [Christ] a Kame which is above every name-. 
That at the Name of Jesus every knee should bow, 
of things in heaA^en, and things in earth, and things 
under the earth. FhU. ii. 9, 10. 
But the Proi>het Isaiah says:- 

Look unto me and be ye saved, all the ends of the 
earth; for I am God, and there is none else. I have 
sworn by myself, the Word is gone out of my mouth 
in righteousness, and shall not return. That unto me 
every knee shall bow, every tongue shall swear. Is. 
xlv. 22, 23.— David says:- 

For ever, O Lord, thy Word is settled in heaven. 
Fsalm cxix. 89. — And Isaiah says:- 

The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Pre- 



124 THE WORD. 

pare ye tlie way of the Lord, make straight in the 

desert a highway for our Grod The voice said, Cry 

.... the grass withereth, the flower fadeth : but the 
Word of our God shall stand for ever. Is. xl. 3-8. 
St. Peter quoting Isaiah says :- 

Love one another with a pure heart fervently: beiug 
born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorrupt- 
ible, by the Word of God which liveth and abideth 
for ever. For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of 
man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and 
the flower thereof falleth away : but the Word of the 
Lord endureth for ever. And this is the Word which 
by the Gospel is preached unto you. 1 Fet. i. 22-25. 
This is He of whom it is written :- 

Of His own will begat He us with the Word of 
truth, that we should be a kind of first fruits of His 
creatures. James i. 18. 

The Lord Jesus saith :- 

Holy Father, keep through thine own name those 

whom Thou hast given me Sanctify them through 

thy truth: thy Word is truth. John xvii. 11, 17. 

Jesus saith, I am the truth. John xiv. 6. 
Again, St. Paul says:- 

Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for 
it; That He might t>mictify and cleanse it with the 
washing of water by the Word. IJph. v. 25, 26. 

But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is 
made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sancti- 
fication, and redemption. 1 Cor. i. 30. 
St. Paul says :- 

The Word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharj)- 
er than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the di- 
viding asunder of the joints and marrow, and is a dis- 
ceruerof the thoughts and intents of the heart. Heb. iv. 



THE WORD. 125 

While St. John declares of Him whose "Name 
is called the Word of God:"- 
Out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it 
He should smite the iiatious: and He shall rule them 

with a rod of iron And He hath on His vesture 

and on His thigh a name written, King- of kings, and 
Lord of lords. Rev, xix. 13-lG. 
St. John explicitly declares :- 

The Word was God and the Word was made 

tlesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, 
the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full 
of grace and truth. John i. 1, 14. 
And again, he speaks of :- 
That w^hich was in the beginning, which we have 
heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we 
have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the 
AVord of life. 1 John i. 1. 

Of this Word of God St. Paul testifies :- 
Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham 
and whosoever feareth God, to you is the Word of this 
salvation sent. For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and 
their rulers, because they knew Him not, nor yet the 
voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath 
day, they have fulfilled them in condemning Him. 
Acts xiii. 20, 27. 

In this sense the Church uses the Word in con- 
nection with the Father and the Holy Spirit, when 
in the Invocation, duriug the Administration of 
the Holy Communion, the Minister says:- 
And we most humbly beseech thee, O merciful Fath- 
er, to hear us; and of thy almighty goodness, vouch- 
safe to bless and sanctify, with thy Word and Holy 
Spirit, these thy gifts and creatures of bread and 
wine; that we, receiving them according to thy Son 



126 THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. 

our Saviour Jesus Christ's lioly institutioD, in rem em - 
brance of His death and passion, may be partakers of 
His most blessed Body and Blood. 

The Collect for the Second Sunday in Advent 
teaches us to say :- 

BLESSED Lord, who hast caused all holy Script- 
ures to be written for our learning; grant that 
we may in such wise hear tliem, read, mark, learn, 
and inwardly digest them, that by patience and com- 
fort of thy holy Word, we may embrace, and ever 
hold fast the blessed lioi)e of everlasting life, which 
thou hast given us in our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE ANGEL OF THE LOED. 



Angel means, one sent, or, a messenger. There 
is reason to believe that God sent His own Son 
under the name of "The Angel of the Lord," to 
accomplish His loving purposes towards man, be- 
fore He appeared " in the likeness of sinful flesh," 
before "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt a- 
mong us." He likewise appears in the Scripture 
as a Man, and as The Captain of the host of the 
Lord. In the passages Avhich describe such visit- 
ations of tbe Son, the Angel speaks "as one hav- 
ing authority," without the announcement, "Thus 
saith the Lord." 

St. Paul says :- 
What the law could not do, in that it was weak 
through the flesh, God sending His own Son in tlie 



THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. 127 

likeness of siuM tlesli, and for sin, condemned sin in 
tUe llesb. Rom. viii. 3. 

When Hagar, Sarai's maid, lied from the face 
of lier mistress :- 
The Angel of the Lord found lier b}^ a fountain of 

water in the wilderness .And the Angel of the 

Lord said unto her, / will multiply thy seed exceed- 
ingly, that it should not be numbered for multitude.. . 
And she called the name of the Lord that spake unto 
her, Thou God seest me: for she said. Have I also 
here looked after Him that seeth me. Oen. xvi. 7-13. 
Jacob told his wives Leah and Eachel :- 
The Angel of God spake unto me in a dream, say- 
ing, I AM the God of Beth-el, where thou anointedst 
the pillar, and where thou vowedst a vow unto me. 
Gen. xxxi. 11, 13. 

Hosea says of Jacob, in reference to his wrest- 
ling with the Man at the ford Jabbok:- 
By his strength lie had power with God: Yea, he 
had power over the Angel, and prevailed : he wept, 
and made supplications unto Him: he found Him in 
Beth-el, and there He spake with us; Even the Lord 
(lod of hosts; the Lord is His memorial. Hoii. xii. 3-5. 
There was a certain man of Zorah, of the family of 
the Danites, whose name was Manoah; and his wife 
was barren, and bare not. And the Angel of the Lord 
appeared unto the woman, and said unto her, Thou 

shalt bear a son Then the woman came and told 

her husband, saying, A man of God came unto me, 
and His countenance was like the countenance of an 
Angel of God, very terrible: but I asked Him not 
whence He was, neither told He me His name. . . Then 
Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, O my Lord, let 
the man of God which Thou didst send come again 



128 THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. 

unto US, and teach us what we shall do unto the child 
that shall be born. And God hearkened to the voice 
of Manoahj and the An^el of God came again to the 
woman as she sat in the field : but Manoah her hus- 
band was not with her. And the woman made haste 
and ran, and shewed her husband, and said ulito him. 
Behold, the man hath appeared unto me, that came 
unto me the other day. And Manoah arose, and went 
after his wife, and came to the man, and said unto 
him. Art thou the Man that spakest unto the woman f 

And He said, I Am And the Angel of the Lord 

said unto Manoah, Of all that I said unto the woman 

let her beware And Manoah said unto the Angel 

of the Lord, What is thy Name, that when thy say- 
ings come to pass we may do thee honour! And the 
Angel of the Lord said unto him. Why askest thou 
thus after my Name, seeing it is secret [or, wonder- 
ful. Marg.yi So Manoah took a kid with a meat off- 
ering, and offered it on a rock unto the Lord: and the 
Angel did wonderously; and Manoah and his Wife look- 
ed on. For it came to pass, when the flame went u^) 
toward heaven from off' the altar, that the Angel of 

the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar Then 

Manoah knew that He was an Angel of the Lord. 
And Manoah said unto his wife. We shall surely die 
because we have seen God. Judges, xiii. 

Predicting the Son of God, Isaiah says:- 

Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given : and 
the government shall be upon His shoulder: and His 
Name shall be called }Vond€rful. Isaiah ix. 6. 

Wh^n Israel was oppressed by the Midianites:- 

The Lord sent a prophet unto the children of Israel, 
which said unto them. Thus saitli the Lord God of 
Israel, I brought you up from Egyi)t. 



THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. 12!> 

Immediately after we read:- 

Aud there came an Angel of the Lord.... and ap- 
peared unto Gideon, and said unto liim, The Lord is 

with thee, thou mighty man of valour And the 

Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, 
and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Mid- 

ianites: have not / aent thee? And Gideon went 

in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes 

and the Angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh 
and the unleavened calves, and lay them upon this 
rock — Then the Angel of the Lord put forth the end 
of the staff that was in His hand and touched the flesh 
and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up tire out 
of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleaven-. 
ed cakes. Then the Angel of the Lord departed out 
of his sight. And when Gideon perceived that He 
was an Angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord 
God! for because I have seen an Angel of the Lord 
face to face. And the Lord said unto him. Peace be 
unto thee ; fear not : thou shalt not die. Judges vi. 
While the Prophet coming with his message, 

says. Thus saith the Lord, the Angel says. Have 

not I sent thee. 

During the delivery of the Law on Mount Si- 
nai, the Lord said to Moses :- 

Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee 
in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I 
have prepared. Beware of Him, and obey His voice, 
provoke Him not; for He will not pardon your trans- 
gressions: for My Name is in Him. Ex, xxiii. 20, 21. 
This is very like the command of the Father :- 

This is my beloved Son: hear Him. Luke ix. 35. 
When Balak sent word to Balaam to come and 

curse Israel:- 



130 THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. 

God came unto Balaam at night, and said unto him, 
If the men come to call thee, rise up, and go with them; 
but yet the word which I shall say unto thee, that 
shalt thou do. 

As he went, the Angel of the Lord withstood 

him in the way three times. 

Then the Lord opened the eyes of Balaam, and he 
saw the Angel of the Lord standing in the way, and 
His sword drawn in His hand: And he bowed down 
his head and fell flat on his face. And the Angel of 

the Lord said unto him I went out to Avithstand 

thee, because thy way is perverse before me And 

Balaam said unto the Angel of the Lord, I have sin- 
,nedf for I knew not that thou stoodest in the way a- 
gainst me: now therefore, if it displease thee, I will 
get me back again. And the Angel of the Lord said 
unto Balaam, Go with the men: but only the word 

that I shall speak unto thee, that thou shalt speak 

x\nd Balaam said unto Balak the word that God 

putteth in my mouthy that shall I speak. Ex. xxii. 

It came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that 
he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there 
stood a Man over against him with His sword dratvn 
in his hand: and Joshua went unto Him, and said un- 
to Him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries'? And 
He said. Nay; but as Captain of the host of the Lord 
am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the 
earth, and did worship, and said unto Him, What saith 
my Lord unto His servant? And the Captain of the 
Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off 
thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. 
And Joshua did so. Josh. v. 13-15. 
David says:- 

The chariots of God are twenty thousand, even 



THE ANGEL OF THE LORD. 131 

thousands of augels: the Lord is among thein, as in 
Sinai, in the holy place. Psalm Ixviii. 17. 
And St. Paul says:- 
The Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with 
His mighty angels, in flaming tire taking vengeance 
on them that know not God, and that obey not the 
gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. 
But while the Lord Jesus, who is called the 
Captain of our salvation, {Beb. ii. 10.) will lead 
His host to destroy His enemies, to those wiio love 
and serve Him He says, as Elisha said to his ser- 
vant when the Syrians compassed them:- 
Fear not: for they that be with us are more than 
they that be with them. And Elisha prayed and said 
Lord, I pray thee, open his eyes, that he may see. 
And the Lord opened the eyes of the young man; and 
he saw and, behold, the mountain was full of horses 
and chariots of fire round about Elisha. 2 Kings vi. 
David says:- 
The Angel of the Lord encampeth round about them 
that fear Him, and delivereth them. Fs. xxxiv. 7. 

An Angel of the Lord came up from Gilgal to Boch- 
im, and said, I made you to go up out of Egypt, and 
liave brought you into the land which I sware unto 
your fathers; and 1 said, I will never break my cov- 
enant with you. Judges ii. 1. 

God spake all these w ords, saying, I am the Lord 
thy God, which have brought thee out of the laud of 
Egypt. Exodus xx. 1, 2. 

The Lord said unto Abram, I will establish my cov- 
enant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in 
their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a 
God unto thee. Gen. xvii. 1, 7. 

In reading these and other similar passages 



132 THE ROCK- THE STONE. 

"written for our learning," we may pray for the 
benefit to be derived from them, in the words of 
the Collect for The Annunciation of the Blessed 
Virgin Mary [Lulce i. 26-38.) :- 

^T/^E beseech thee, O Lord, pour thy grace into our 
y\ hearts; that as we have known the incarnation 

of thy Son Jesus Cbrist by the message of an angel; 

so by His cross and passion we may be brought unto 

the glory of His resurrection, through the same Jesus 

Christ our Lord. Amen. 



CHAPTER XY. 

THE EOCK-THE STONE. 

:o: 

The many allusions in the Old Testament to 
God and to the Lord as the Rock and the Stone, 
are shown by parallel passages of the New Testa- 
ment to refer to the Lord Jesus Christ :- 

Moses says:- 
Ascribe ye greatness unto our God. He is the liock. 
Deut. xxxii. 3, 4. 

But Jeshurun forsook God which made him, 

and lightly esteemed the llock of his salvation.... Of 
the Kock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and 
hast forgotten God that formed thee. Deut. xxxii. 15. 
Da^ id says :- 
The Lord is my Rock, and my fortress, and my de- 
liverer; my God the horn of my salvation For 

who is God save the Lord? or who is a Rock save our 
God? Fsalm xviii. 2, 31. 
Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from Him cometh 



THE KOCK-THE STONE. 133 

my salvatiou He only is my Eock and my salva- 
tion. Fsalm Ixii. 1-7. 
Isaiah says:- 

Sauctify tlie Lord of liosts Himself; and let Him be 

yonr fear And He shall be for a sanctuary; but for 

a, Stone of stumbling, and for a Rock of offence to both 
the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the 
inhabitants of Jerusalem. Isaiah viii. 13, 14. 
St. Paul thus explains this text:- 

The Gentiles, which followed not after righteous- 
ness, have attained to righteousness, even the right- 
eousness which is of faith. But Israel, which follow - 
e<l after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to 
the law of righteousness. Wherefore! Because they 
sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of 
the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling-stone; 
As it is written. Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone 
and Eock of offence: and whosoever believeth on Him 
shall not be ashamed. Rom. ix. 30-33. 

When Simon Peter confessed the Lord and said:- 

Th(m art the Christ, the S(m of the living God, Jesus 

answered and said unto him flesh and blood hath 

not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in 

heaven upon this Eock I will build my Church ; and 

the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Matt. 
xvi. 16-18. 

St. Peter does not claim that himself is the Eock 

upon whom the Lord would build His Church when 

he quotes the Scripture :- 

Behold, I lay in Sion a chief Corner-Stone, elect, 
precious: and he that believeth on Him shall not be 
confounded. 1 Peter ii. 6. 

St. Peter having healed the impotent man, said 

to the Eulers and Elders:- 



134 THE ROCK- THE STONE. 

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people, of 
Israel, that by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, 
whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead, 
even by Him doth this man stand here before you 
whole. This is the Stone which was set at nought of 
you builders, which is become the head of the corner. 
Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is 
none other name under heaven given among men, 
whereby we must be saved. Acts iv. 8-12. 

The foundation Stone is shown in what the 

Lord said in ending His sermon on the Mount :- 

Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and do- 
eth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which 
built his house upon a rocJc : And the rain descended, 
and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat 
upon that house ; and it fell not : for it was founded 
upon a rock. Matt vii. 24, 25. 

There is a fine allegory in the stories of the 

Eock at Horeb and Kadesh. 

All the congregation of the Children of Israel jour- 
neyed from the wilderness of Sin — and pitched in 
Kephidim: and there was no water for the people to 
drink. Wherefore the people did chide with Moses, 

and said. Give us water that we may drink And 

Moses cried unto the Lord, saying, What shall I do 
unto this people? they be almost ready to stone me. 
And the Lord said unto Moses, Go on before the peo- 
ple, and take with thee of the elders of Israel; and thy 
rod, wherewith thou smotest the river, take in thine 
hand, and go. Behold, I will stand before thee there 
upon the Rock in Horeb; and thou shalt smite the 
Eock, and there shall come water out of it, that the 
[>eople may drink. And Moses did so in the sight of 
the elders of Israel. E.mdns xvii. 1-6. 



I 



THE ROCK- THE STONE. 135 

In this case Moses is told to smite the rock. 

Then came the chihlreu of Israel into the desert 

of Zin in the first month: and the people abode in 
Kadesh And there was no water for the congrega- 
tion: and they gathered themselves together against 
Moses and against Aaron. And the people chode with 

Moses And the Lord spake nnto Moses, saying, 

Take thy rod, and gather thon the assembly together, 
thou, and Aaron thy brother, and speaTc ye unto the 
rock before their eyes; and it shall give forth his wa- 
ter And Moses took the rod from before the Lord, 

as He commanded him. And Moses and Aaron gath- 
ered the congregation together before the rock, and he 
said unto them, Hear now, ye rebels; must we fetclL 
you water out of this rockf And Moses lifted up his 
hand, and with his rod he smote the rock twice: and 
the water came out abundantly, and the congregation 
drank, and their beasts also. And the Lord spake 
unto Moses and Aaron, because ye believed me not, 
to sanctify me in the eyes of the children of Israel, 
therefore ye shall not bring this Congregation iuto 
the land which I have given them. Num. xx. 1-12. 
Here the Lord's command was '' Speak ye unto 
the rock;" and He was displeased with Moses and 
Aaron because in their anger they failed to fulfil 
the purpose of His command, and smote the rock 
instead of only speaking to it. 

That this, though a true story, is also an alle- 
gory may be inferred from what St. Paul says:- 
Brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, 
how that all our fathers did all eat the same spir- 
itual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: 
for they drank of that spiritual Eock that followed 
them : and that Eock was Christ. 1 Cor. x. 1-4. 



136 THE ROCK- THE STONE. 

The Lord Jesus Himself says :- 
Whosoever drinketh of the water that I sball give 
him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give 
him shall be iu him a Avell of water springing up into 
everlasting life. John iv. 14. 

But this spake He of the Spirit which they that be- 
lieve on Him should receive. John vii. 39. 

This then is the solution of the allegory which 
Moses would have seen had not his faith been 
dimmed by anger with the people. He did not 
believe-that is, fully apprehend-the intent of the 
Lord : so he failed to sanctify the Lord in the eyes 
of the children of Israel, and was punished in not 
being permitted to lead them over to tbe promis- 
ed land. The Kock having been once smitten, 
there was no need to smite it again, but only to 
speak k) it. So Christ, the Eock of our salvation 
having once died upon the Cross, now once hath 
appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Him- 
self. 

While the Lord says to those who love Him:- 
Whatsoever ye shall ash in my Name, that will I 
do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son: If ye 
shall ask any thing in my !N^ame, I will do it; {John 
xiv. 13, 14.) He saith also:- 

What is this then that is written. The Stone which 
the builders rejected, the same is become the head of 
tlie corner? Whosoever shall fall upon that Stone shall 
be broken; but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will 
grind him to powder. lAilce xx. 17, 18. 

St. Paul calls the Church built upon this Rock: 
The Church of the living God, the pillar and ground 
of the truth. 1 Tim. iii. 15. 

The twentieth of the Articles of Religion, in the 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 137 

Book of Common Prayer, says :- 

Although the Church be a witness and a keeper of 
Holy Writ, yet, as it ought not to decree any thing 
against the same, so besides the same ought it not to 
enforce any thing to be believed for ne(;essity of sal- 
vation. 

We are taught to pray for this Church thus:- 

LOED, we beseech thee to keep thy household the 
Church in continual godliness; that, through thy 
])rotection, it may be free from all adversities, and de- 
voutly given to serve thee in good works, to the glory 
of thy name, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

THE EESUEEECTION OF THE BODY. 



-:o:- 



In accordance with the warnings which God 
had given to His chosen people, the body of the 
Church of Israel died^ and its members were dis- 
persed through all the world. There were left to 
them no holy city, no temple, no altar upon which 
the appointed sacrifices should be offered. 

But the prophets say that the members of this 
*Body shall be collected together again, and that 
it shall be as it were resusc^itated, raised from the 
dead into new life. Ezekiel shows this by his 
parable of the dry bones :- 

Then He said unto me, Son of man, these bones are 
the whole house of Israel : behold, they say. Our bones 
are dried, and our hope is lost : we are cut off for our 
l)arts. Therefore prophesy and say unto them. Thus 



138 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 

saith the Lord God; Behold, O id 3' i)eople, I will open 
your graves, and cause you to come up out of your 
graves, aud bring you into the land of Israel. And 
ye shall know that I am the Lord, when I have open 
ed your graves, O my people, and brought you up out 
of your graves, and shall jjut my spirit in you, aud 
ye shall live. Uzelc. xxxvii. 11-14. 
Isaiah says:- 

It shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord shall 
set His hand again the second time to recover the 

remnant of His people, which shall be left And 

He shall set up an ensign for the nations, and shall 
assemble the outcasts of Israel, and gather together 
the dispersed of Judah from the four corners of the 
earth. Isaiah xi. 11, 12. 
So Jeremiah :- 

Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the Lord, 
that they shall no more say. The Lord liveth which 
brought up the children of Israel out of the land of 
Egypt ; But, the Lord liveth, which brought up and 
which led the seed of the house of Israel out of the 
North country, and from all countries whither I had 
driven them; and they shall dwell in their own land. 
Jer. xxiii. 7, 8. 

Again, Zechariah says:- 

I will strengthen the house of Judah, and I will 
save the house of Joseph, and I will bring them again 
to place them; for I have mercy upon them: and they 
shall be as though I had not cast them off: for I am 
the Lord their God. Zech. x. 0. 
St. Paul says:- 

Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh for; 
but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were 
blinded I say then. Have they stumbled that they 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 139 

should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall 
.salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke 

them to jealousy For if the casting- away of them 

be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiv- 
ing of them be, but life from the dead I — Thou wilt 
say then. The branches were broken off, that I might 
be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were 

broken oil", and thou standest by faith And they 

also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graft- 
ed in: for God is able to graft' tliem in again. For if 
thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by 
nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a 
good olive tree; how much more shall these, which be 
the natural brianches, be graffed into their own olive 

tree? And so all Israel shall be saved. Rom. xi. 

2-27. 

The history of the Israelites is full of types; and 
it would seem not to be by accident that this one 
has been adopted by the Church in appointing to 
be read in her morning lesson for the Sunday be- 
fore Ascension Day, .when she celebrates the real 
resurrection of our Lord from the dead, that pass- 
age from Zechariah :- 

Behold, I will save my people from the east country, 
and from the west country ; and I will bring them, and 
they shall dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Zech. 
viii. 7, 8. 

And again she repeats the promise in the even- 
ing lesson :- 

I will bring them again . . for I have redeemed 

them — and they shall live with their children and 
turn again. Zech. x. 6-9. 

What shall this receiving of them from their 
dispersed condition be but life from the dead, ob- 



140 THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 

tallied, as St. Paul says, through the Deliverer 

comiiig- out of Sion, our Saviour as well as t heirs f 
As if to show what the redemption and bring 

ing again of the body of Israel shoukl typify, the 

Church appoints her second evening Lesson to tell 

of our resurrection at the last day :- 

As Jesus died and rose again, even so them also 
which sleep in Jesus will God bring with Him. 1 Thess. 
iv. 13. — Of the people of Israel St. Paul says:- 

Even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail 
is upon their heart. Nevertheless when it shall turn 
to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away. 2 Cor. iii. 
13-16. — And of the Lord Jesus he says:- 

He is the Head of the Body, the Church ; who is the 
beginning, the tirstborii from the dead. Col. i. 18. 
Our Lord predicted His own death, and that 

He should also rise again :- 

From that time fortli began Jesus to show unto His 
disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and 
sufl'er many things of the elders and Chief Priests and 
Scribes, and be killed, and be. raised again the third 
day. Matt. xvi. 21. 

Hosea has a remarkable passage which is doubt- 
less a prophecy that the Lord should rise on the 

third day :- 

Come and let us return unto the Lord: for He hath 
torn and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He 
will bind us up. After two days will He revive us: in 
the third day He tcill raise us up^ and we shall live in 
His sight. Hosea vi. 1-3. 

Isaiah has a similar passage :- 

Thy dead men shall live, together with my dead body 
shall they arise. Awake and sing, ye that dwell in 
dust: for thy dew is as the dew of herbs, and the earth 



THE RESURRECTION OF THE BODY. 141 

shall cast out tlie dead. Isaiah xxvi. 19. 

The last time the Lord " shewed Himself alive 

after His passion/' to His Apostles, [AcU i. 21.) 

He said unto them, These are the words Avhich I 
spake unto you, while 1 was yet with you, that all 
things must be fulhlled which were written in the law 
of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, con- 
cerning me. Then opened He their understanding, 
that they might understand the Scriptures, And said 
unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved 
(Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third 
day: And that rei)entan(5e of sins should be i)reached 

in His name among all nations And He led them 

<mt as far as to Bethany, and He lifted up His hands 
and blessed them. And it came to i^ass, while He 
blessed them. He was parted from them, and carried 
up into heaven. Luke xxiv. 44-51. 

There are other instances of men ascending up 

to heaven. 

Enoch walked with God: and he was not; for God 
took him. Genesis v. 24. — By faith Enocli was trans- 
lated that he should not see death; and was not found 
because God had translated him : for before his trans- 
lation he had this testimony, that he pleased God. 
Hehreivs xi. 5. — Again :- 

It came to pass, wlien the Lord would take up Eli- 
jah into heaven by a wliirlwind, that Elijah went with 

Elisha from Gilgal And it came to pass, as they 

still went on, and talked, that, behold, there appear- 
ed a chariot of lire, and horses of fire, and parted 
them both asunder; and Elijah went up by a whirl- 
wind into heaven. 2 Kings ii. 1, 11. 

That the spirit may be reunited to the body so 

as to make it alive again, is shown by our Lord's 



142 THE RESUKRECTION OF THE BODY. 

raising from the dead the daughter of Jairus. 
{Mark v. 35-42.) And the son of the widow of Nain. 
[Liike vii. 12-15. )And Lazarus, alter he had been 
lying in the grave four days. {John xi. 1-44.) 
And the graves were opened; and many bodies of 
the saints which slept arose, and came out of the 
graves after His resurrection, and went into the holy 
city, and appeared unto many. Matt, xxvii. 52, 53. 
St. Paul very plainly preaches the doctrine of 
the resurrection in his lirst Epistle to the Corinth- 
ians, fifteenth chapter, (used in the Burial Serv- 
ice of the Churcli,) in which he adduces the oper- 
ations of Nature as a proof that our natural bodies 
shall die, and see corruption, and be raised again. 
God giveth it a body as it hath pleased Him, and to 

every seed his own body So is also the resurrection 

of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in 
incorruption : It is sown in dishonour ; it is raised in 
glory: It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. 
It is sown a natural body ; it is raised a spiritual body. 
1 Cor. XV. 38, 42-44.— Now ;- 

If we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even 
so them also which sleej) in Jesus [they are of His 
Body, the Church,] will God bring with Him. For 
this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that 
we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the 
Lord shall not prevent [r/o before] them which are a- 
sleep. For the Lord Himself shall descend from heav- 
en witli a shout, with the voice of the Archangel, and 
with tlie trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall 
rise lirst: Then we which are alive and remain shall 
be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet 
the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the 
Lord. 1 ThesH. iv. 14-17. 



UNITY. 148 

Thus there appears to be an allegorical connect- 
ion between the promise that the body of the Jew- 
ish Church shall be collected and resuscitated a 
spiritual body, when it shall turn to the Lord Je- 
sus in faith ; and that the natural bodies of all 
those who die in Christ shall be raised up spirit- 
ual bodies, when He shall appear again. 

The Church in her Creed says, " I look for the 
Kesurrection of the dead. And the life of the 
world to come." And that we may apply the 
lessons taught by the Eesurrection, she gives us 
this form of supplic^ation in the Colle(it for Ascen- 
sion Day : 
GEANT, we beseech thee, Almighty God, that like 
as we do believe thy only begotten Son our Lord 
Jesus Christ to have ascended into the heavens; so 
we may also in heart and mind thither ascend, and 
with Him continually dwell, who liveth and reigneth 
with thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without 
end. Am 671, 



CHAPTER XVII. 

UNITY. 
:o: 

While so much is said about Unity among the 
worshipers of God, and so much thought is given 
to discover the best way to bring it about, it is 
worth while to study what the Bible says upon 
the subject. 

The idea of true unity centers in our Saviour 
Christ, who is the Head of the Body, the Church. 



144 UNITY. 

To Abraham and his Seed were the promises made. 
He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, 
And to thy Seed, which is Christ. Gal. iii. 16. 

Because of the fidelity of their father Abraham 
the Lord chose Israel to be one nation, separate 
from all other people of the world, to serve Him. 
Moses went up unto God, and tlie Lord called unto 
him out of the mountain, saying-, Thus shalt thou say 
to the house of Jacob, and tell the children of Israel. . . 
If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my cove- 
nant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me a- 
bove all people: for all the earth is mine: and ye shall 
be unto me a Mngdom of priests^ and an holy nation . 
Exodus xix. 3-6. 

The token of the covenant in which the chil- 
dren of Israel became members of this holy nation 
was circumcision. Provision was also made for 
strangers, or Gentiles, to become members of this 
holy nation through means of the same covenant 
token. 

When a stranger shall sojourn with thee, and will 
keep the Passover to the Lord, let all his males be 
circumcised, and then let him come near and keep it; 
and he shall be as one that is born iu the laud: for no 
uncircumcised person shall eat thereof. One laic shall 
be to him that is homeborn, and unto the stranger that 
sojourneth among you. Exodus xiii. 48, 49. 

Thus saith the Lord Neither let the son of the 

stranger, that hath joined himself to the Lord, speak, 
saying. The Lord hath utterly separated me from His 

people for thus saith the Lord .... Also the sons of 

the stranger, that join themselves to the Lord, to serve 
Him, and to love the Nauie of the Lord, to be His 
servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from 



UNITY. 145 

polluting" it, and taketli liold of iny covenant; even 
them will I bring to my holy mountain, an<l make 
them joyful in my house of prayer: their burnt offer- 
ings and their sacrifices shall be accepted u[)on mine 
altar; for mine house shall be called an house of pray- 
er/or all people. The Lord God which gathereth the 
outcasts of Israel saith. Yet will I gather others to 
Him J beside those that are (jathered unto Him. Is. Iv. 
1-8. — This promise to the Jewish Church was also 

made to the Christian Church :- 

Then said Jesus unto them I am the good Shep- 
herd, and know my sheej), and am known of mine. 
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Fath- 
er. And other sheep I have which are not of this fold : 
them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; 
and there shall be one fold, and one Shepherd. John 
X. 14-16. — But Moses says:- 

Then there shall be a place which the Lord your 
God shall choose to cause His Name to dwell there; 
tbither shall ye bring all that I command you, your 
burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and 
the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice 

vows which ye vow unto the Lord Take heed to 

thyself that thou offer not thy burnt offerings in every 
place that thou seest: But in the place which the Lord 
shall choose in one of thy tribes, there thou shalt offer 
thy burnt offerings, and there thou shalt do all that 
I command thee. Heut. xii. 11, 13. 

And this was the jdace that the Lord chose :- 

And thou shalt say unto them, Whatsoever man 
there be of the house of Israel, or of the strangers 
which sojourn among you, that offereth a burnt offer- 
ing, or sacrifice, and bringeth it not unto the door of 
the tabernacle of the congregation, to offer it unto the 



14^ UNITY. 

Lord; even that man shall be cut off from among Ms 
people. Levit. xvii. 8, 9. 

When he had finished the temple at Jeru?;alem 
Solomon stood before the altar of the Lord in the 
presence of all the congregation* of Israel, and sprea<l 
forth his hands toward heaven: And he said, Lord 
God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven a- 
bove, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and 
mercy witb thy servants that walk befi.re thee with 
all their heart . . . . But will God indeed dwell on eartb i 
behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot con 
tain thee ; how much less this house that I have build- 
ed? Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy serv- 
ant That thine eyes may be open toward this house 

night and day, even toward the place of whic^h thou 
hast said. My Name shall be there ; that thou mayest 
hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make 
toward this place. 1 Kings viii. 22-29. 

Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy 
people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy 
name's sake; (For they shall hear of thy great Kame, 
and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out armj) 
when he sliall come and pray toward this house', Hear 
thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according 
to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all 
l)eoi)le of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, 
as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that 
this house which I have builded, is called by thy 
name. 1 Kings viii. 41-4o. 

In whatever i)lace the Hebrews hai)pened to be, 
they were wont to turn towards the Temple at Je 
rusalem when they i)rayed. They also went up to 
flerusalem to sacrifice at the Temple, and tokeei» 
the three principal feasts of the Passover, Pente- 



UNITY. 147 

cost, and Tabernacles. 
Of Jesus it is said :- 
His i^arents went to Jerusalem every year at tlie 
Feast of the Passover. And when He was twelve 
years old, they went up to Jerusalem after the custom 
of the feast. Lulce ii. 42. 

All this seems to indicate that there should be 
but one authoritative church, typified by the 
priesthood and temple at Jerusalem, in which God 
should be worshiped. 

We first read of schism among the Hebrews in 
the reign of Eehoboam, the son of Solomon, when 
ten tribes of Israel revolted from him, leaving on- 
ly the tribe of Judah and the small tribe of Ben- 
jamin subject to him. '^So Israel rebelled against 
the house of David unto this day." And they 
made Jeroboam king over Israel. {1 KL xii. 1-20.) 
The consequences of this schism immediately 
began to be seen :- 

And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the king- 
dom return to the house of David : If this people go 
up to do sacrifice in the house of the Lord at Jerusa- 
lem, then shall the heart of this people turn again un- 
to their lord, even unto Eehoboam king of Judah, and 
they shall kill me Whereupon the king took coun- 
sel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, 
It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold 
thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the 
land of Egypt. And he set the one in Bethel, and 
the other put he in Dan. And this thing became a sin-. 
tor the peoi)le went to worship before the one, even 
unto Dan. And he made an house of high places, and 
maHe priests of the loicest of the people^ which were 
not of the sons of Levi, 1 Kings xii. 26-31. 



148 UNITY. 

The unlawful sacrifices, and feasts, and incense 
before this altar were rebuked by a mau of God 
who came out of Judah, and prophesied that a 
man named Josiah should come and burn those 
priests upon the altar j and the altar was rent. 
1 Kings xiii. 1-5. 

The schismatic tribes were always more prone 
to be idolatrous, and more easily led away from 
the true God, than Judah. After the separation 
of the twelve tribes dispersion became the doom 
of them all, for they wandered from the prescrib 
ed worship of God, and thus broke His covenant. 
They were also divided up into sects, such as the 
Pharisees, who were tilled with pride and hypoc- 
risy, and yet kept up the outward observance of 
the law with great ostentation. There were also 
the Sadduces who believed in uo future rewards, 
or punishments ; and others. There was yet aft- 
er all, a remnant of true Israelites; and many of 
these became disciples of our Lord, while as a rule 
the Sects bitterly opposed Him. 

Let us see if tbere are auy warniugs given to 
the Church of the new dispensation, to avoid the 
fate of the twelve tribes by watching lest:- 
The time will come when they will not endure sound 
(h)ctrine; but alter their own lusts shall they hea}) to 
tliemselves teachers, having itching ears; And they 
shall turn away tbeir ears from the trutli, and shall 
be turned unto fables. 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. 

As Circumcision was the token of the covenant 
by which Jew and Stranger became members of 
tlie Church of Israel, so is Baptism with the Christ- 
• ian Church. Our Lord saith :- 
Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he 



h 



UNITY. 141) 

<'aunot enter iuto the kiugdom of God. JoJiu iii. .">. 
The Christiau Church is characterised iu the 

same mauiier as the Church ot* Israel :- 

Uiito you therefore which believe, He [Christ] is 

precious But ye are a chosen generation^ a royal 

priesthood, an holy nation^ a peculiar people; that ye 
should shew Ibrth the praises of Him who hath called 
you out of darkness into His marvellous light: Whicli 
in time past were not a people, but are now tlie people 
of God. 1 Peter ii. 7, li, 10. 
Now St. Paul says:- 

As the body is one, and hath many members, and 
all the members of that one body, being many, are one 
body. So also is Christ. For by one Spirit are we all 
baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, 
whether we be bond or free. 1 Cor. lli, I'd. 

And He gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; 
and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers; 
For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ; Till 
we all come in [or, into. Marg.] the unity of the faith, 
and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a per- 
fect man, unto the measure of the stature of the ful- 
ness of Clirist: That we henceforth be no more chil- 
dren tossed to and fro, and carried about with every 
wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning- 
craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive; But 
speaking the truth in love, may grow up into Him in 
all things, which is the head, even Christ. Eph. iv. 
11-15. — The idea of unity runs through all these 

texts; and the Apostles continually press it upon 

all the believers in Christ. Thus St. Paul in the 

following passages :- 

The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the 



150 UNITY. 

Communion of the blood of Cbrist! The bread which 
we break, is it not the Communion of the body of 
Christ? For we being- many, are one bread, and one 
body: for we are all partakers of that one bread. 1 
Cor. X. 16, 17. 

For as we have many members in one body, and all 
members have not the same office: so we being many, 
are one body in Christ, and every one members one of 
another. Bom. xii. 4, 5. 

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you 
that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are 
called, with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuf 
fering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring 
to heep the unity of the tSpirit in the bond of peace. 
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are call- 
ed in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one 
baptism, one God and Father of all. Eph. iv. 1-6. 

Be of the same mind one toward another. Rom. 
xii. 16. 

If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if 

any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit 

fullil ye my joy, that ye be Ukeminded, having the 
same love, being of one accord, oi one mind. Fhil. ii. 
1, 2. — Finally, brethren, farewell. Be perfect, be of 
good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace; and the 
God of love and peace shall be with you. 2 Cor. xiii. 
11. — Only let your conversation be as becometh the 
Gosi)el of Christ: that whether I come and see yon, 
or else be absent, I may hear of your afl'airs, that ye 
stand fast in one npirit, with one mind striving togeth- 
er for the faith of the Gospel. Fhil. i. 27. 
And St. Peter says:- 

Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion 
one of another, love as bretliren. 1 Peter iii. 8. 



UNITY. 151 

But unity is not only to liave one mind, one si)ir- 
it; for St. Paul says:- 

i^ow tlie God of patience and consolation .i>Tant yon 
to be likeminded one toward another according to 
Christ Jesus: that ye may with one miinl and one 
luouth [by the use of forms'^. How else? ] glorify God, 
even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Rom. xv. 
."), (>. — So i-t is said of ^'all that believed ":- 

They, continuing <laily with one accord in the tem- 
l)Ie, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat 
their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, prais- 
ing God, .and having favour with the people; and the 
l^ord added to the Church daily such as should be sav- 
<m1. Acts* ii. 46. 

And the multitude of them that believed were of 
one heart and of (me soul. Acts iv. 32. 
Our blessed Lord prayed :- 
Holy Father, keep through thine own Name those 
whom thou hast given me, that they may be one^ an 
tee are.. . . Neither pray I for these alone, but for them 
also which shall believe on me through their word; 
That they all may he one-, as thou, Father, art in me, 
and I in thee, that they also may be one tvith us: that 
the world may believe that thou hast sent me. John 
xvii. 11, 20, 21. 

In any religious body wiiere all hold the same 
opinions, there is a warm sympathy between its 
members. What the Lord and His holy Apostles 
would have is, that the same affectionate concord 
should exist between all of His followers. Hence 
the absolute necessity for unity in order that the 
Lord's will may be really complied with. 

Belbre sects, or denominations, had arisen in 
the Christian Church, St. Paul uttered this earn- 



152 UNITY. 

est and prophetic waruing :- 

i^pw I beseech you, brethreu, by the 2s^aiiie of our 
Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak tiie same thing, 
and that there be no divisions [or, schisms. Mary.] a- 
mong you 5 but that ye be perfectly joined together in 
the same mind and in the same judgment. For it hath 

been declared unto me of you, my brethren that 

there are contentions among you. Now this 1 say, 
that every one of you saith, 1 am of Paul; and I of 
ApoUos; and 1 of Cephas j and 1 of -Christ. Is Christ 
dividedl 1 Cor. i. lU-13. 

God hath tempered the body together that there 

should be no schism in the body; but that tiie members 

should have the same care one for another Now ye 

are the body of Christ, and members in particular. 1 
Corinthians xii. 24, 25, 27. 
Our Lord said:- 

Every kingdom divided against itself is brought to 
desolation; and a house divided against a house fall- 
eth. Luke xi. 17. 

So eventually did the house of Israel ; though 

not till after many years, and many warnings. 
Solomon, the wise man, says:- 

These six things doth the Lord hate he that 

soweth discord among brethren. Frov. vi. 10, 11). 
And St. Paul says:- 

Now 1 beseech you, brethren, mark them which 
cause divisions and often ces contrary to the doctrine 
which ye have learned; and avoid them. For they 
tliat are such serve not om* Lord Jesus Christ, but their 
own belly: and by good words and fair speeches de- 
ceive the hearts of tlie simple. Motn. xvi. 17, IS. 

Ye are yet carnal: for whereas there is among you 
envying, and strife, and divisions [or, factions. Marg.] 



UNITY. 15;^ 

are ye uot carnal, and walk as men ? For while one 
saith, I am of Paul; and another, I am ot* Apollos; are 
ye not carnal? 1 Cor. iii. 3, 4. 

St. Mark relates that when Jesus was i)assing 
over the sea in a ship, "there were also with Him 
other little ships.'''' Mark iv. 3(i. 

David says, ''The mountains also shall bring 
peace, and the little hills righteousness unto the 
people." Fsalm Ixxii. 3. 

St. Paul declares, '' For there must be also her- 
esies [or, sects. Marg.] among you, that thej' which 
are approved may be made manifest among you." 
1 Cor. xi. 19. 

If the ship and the mountain stand for the 
Church; and the little shijis and the little hills 
for the Sects, then here, possibly, is a reason for 
the present want of unity. Though all may ac- 
c^ompany the Lord, and may bring righteousness 
unto the people, yet there ought not to be any 
schism in the body of Christ ; for "He is the head 
of the Body, the Church," and how can He be di- 
vided? Nevertheless, their existence causes a 
closer study and better understanding of the Bi- 
ble; and a trial of each system by it as the only 
safe standard, Till " all come in the unity of the 
faith, and of the know ledge of the Son of God." 
Lest the unity of the Lord's Body should be bro- 
ken, St. Paul gives to Titus this warning com- 
mand :- 

This is a faithful saying; and these things I will 
that th(m affirm constantly; that they which have be- 
lieved in God might be careful to maintain good works. 
These things are good and profitable unto men. But 
avoid foolish questions, and genealogies, and conten- 



154 UNITY. 

tions, j>nd strivings about the law, for they are uiiprof 
itable and vain. Titus iii. S, 9. 

In view of these frequent exhortations to unity 
it would seem that there must now be a Church 
of divine sanction, if not of divine authority, in 
which all believers in the Bible can rally in unity. 
That such is the case seems to be taught by the 
Lord's miracle of the net enclosing a multitude of 
fishes : For all there were so many yet was not the 
net broken. John xxi. 6-11. 

So also by St. Peter's vision, in which he:- 
Saw heaven opened, and a certain vessel descend- 
ing unto him, as it had been a great slieet, knit at the 
four corners, and let dovv^n to the earth; Wherein were 
all manner of fourfooted beasts of the earth, and wihl 
beasts and creeping things, and fowls of the air. 
Acts X. 9-lG. 

Is not this the Church gathered from the four 
corners of the earth, into which all who believe 
may enter, and none may call them common or 
unclean f The Church prays: "From all false 
doctrine, heresy and schism, Crood Lord, deliver 
us; And this is her ^^ Prayer for all Conditicms of 
Men :"- 

OGOD, the Creator and Preserver of all mankind, 
we humbly beseech thee for all sorts and condi- 
tions of men, that thou wouldest be pleased to make 
thy ways known unto them, thy saving health unto 
all naticms. More especially we pray for thy holy 
Church universal; that it may be so guided and go- 
verned by thy good Spirit, that all who profess and 
call themselves Christians, may be led into the way 
of trnth, and hold the faith in unity of Spirit, in the 
bond of peace, and in righteousness of life. Finally, 
we commend to thy Fatherly goodness, all those who 
are any ways afflicted or distressed in mind, body, or 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYEK. 155 

estiite; that it may please tliee to comlbit and relieve 
tliem, according to tlieir several necessities; giving 
tlieni patience under tbeir sufferings, and a liappy is- 
sue out of all their afflictions: and this we beg for Je- 
sus Christ's sake. Amen. 



CHAPTER XYIII. 

THE BOOK OF COMMON PEAYER. 



-:o: 



In no way are the harmonies of the Bible and 
the Church more beautifully and more plainl^^ il- 
lustrated, than in the use of the Book of Common 
Prayer. As a guide in the w^orship of Almighty 
God, it systematically teaches the true relation of 
the Church to her Saviour and Head; to God the 
Father Son and Holy Ghost. 

Xor is it necessary to restrict the use of it to 
public worship. There is hardly a proper emotion 
or aspiration of the heart which does not iind ex- 
pression in some prayer or collect; and thus are 
offered to one who is slow of speec^h the very words 
he needs in his secret communion with his Lord. 
Such use of the forms of prayer in private devo- 
tions, tends to a better apprehension of their im- 
port, which enhances their benefit when we join 
in the public services of the Church. 

The ritual of the Church of Israel, embracing 
the sacrifices, purifications, fasts, &c. was given 
by God in a special revelation to Israel. He in- 
formed them that these observances were typical 
and imperfect. {Heh. ix. x.) They were to contin- 



156 THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYEli. 

ue in a form addressed to the outward seuses, as 
shadows of the heavenly things, until the Messiah 
should come to do away with their imperfect 
priesthood, and to substitute spiritual sacrifices 
for the sensual types. Is not the discontinuance 
of the sacrifices for so long-, without a sign of their 
being renewed, a proof that tbe Messiah has al- 
ready come? 

Would it not be natural to look for a continua- 
tion of the Church of Israel, in a form which in 
its ritual should present a spiritual worship ful- 
filling the types of the Old Testament, and obey- 
ing the injunction, to keep them as a statute for 
ever! The extent to which the use of the Book 
of Common Prayer complies with that condition 
is probably realized by but few of those who use 
it most and love it best. Our Lord said, "Think 
not tbat I am come to destroy the law, or the 
prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." 
Matt. V. 17. So the Church seeks to fulfil the law 
in all things. 

It fulfils the law concerning the Priesthood, 
having three orders of its Ministry, corresponding 
to the three Jewish orders. 

It has the Sacrament of Baptism, by which per- 
sons become members of it, {John iii. 5.) corres- 
l>onding to the Jewish rite of Circumcision. 

Also the Lord's Supper, corresponding to the 
Jewish sacrifice of the lamb. 

Then it has the three principal annual Feasts, 
(corresponding to those which the Jews were com- 
manded to keep: Easter for the Passover; Whit- 
suntide for Pentecost; Christmas for the Tabern- 
acles. 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYEK. 157 

The prayers, collects, &c. are made up of texts 
of Scripture. {See iScHptiire proofs of the Liturgy^ 
by Eei\ Dr. Bert/j. Hale.) Thus they teach how to 
pray for what the Bible tells us we need, in the 
very w^ords of the Bible itself. When His disci- 
ples said, "Lord, teach us how to pray," Jesus re- 
plied, "When ye pray, say, Our Father which art 
in heaven," &c. Acicordingly, in every separate 
office in the Book of Common Prayer; as well as 
in the form for Morning and Evening Prayer, the 
Lord's Prayer is appointed to be said. 

Again, our Lord said to His disciples, "What- 
soever ye shall ask the Father in my Name, He 
will give it you." Accordingly, each prayer ends 
with a sentence such as this: "Through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. So the prayers teach us our 
duty, and make us ask for grace to do it. 

By the division of the year into seasons, and 
setting apart certain holidays, according to the 
tables in the beginning of the Prayer Book, all 
the prominent events, and doctrines of the Bible 
are week after week, presented in four appropri- 
ate chapters of the Bible, and in the Epistle and 
Gospel for the da}^, so selected that by compari- 
son they illustrate some particular subject. Thus 
the Church as it were acts out every year, the sto- 
ry of the Gospel, beginning with the birth of the 
Saviour, at the season of Advent and Christmas, 
and occupying about half of the year, after Trini- 
ty, in a miscellaneous review. 

One great benefit of this system is the i)ractical 
way in which the discipline of the Church forms 
the spirit of man in accord with the Holy Spirit, 
by inspiration of whom all holy Scripture is writ- 



158 THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYEK. 

ten. As an illustration 5 Tlie services in Passion 
week bring the Lord's passion as vividly to mind 
as it is possible for words to do. By strict atten- 
tion to them, the subject assumes such a form of 
reality that we seem to have had all the events 
enacted before our eyes. It is in this way that 
the Church educates her children in faith. By 
spiritually enacting the great scenes of the Bible 
at stated seasons, and in such a systematic man- 
ner, the truth and reality of them all is made fa- 
miliar to the mind from childhood, and faith in 
them is steadily developed and conlirmed. 

The same is quite true in regard to the denun- 
ciations against sin, and the promised rewards for 
a holy life, which have their due prominence, es- 
pecially at the seasons set ai)art for self examina- 
tion arid discipline. 

So in the use of the Psalter. The Psalms were 
sung by the eTews at their daily worship in the 
Temple. They had a regular choir of singers, ac- 
companied by players on instruments. (1 Chron. 
vi. 31, 32.-XXV. 1-7.) Beside the daily service of 
soug, they had special psalms for particular occa- 
sions. A few instances of similar use of the same 
psalms by the Church, will suffice. 

In the Bible version, a title is given to Psalm 
xcii: "A Psalm or Soug for the Sabbath Day." 
It begins thus: "It is a good thing to give thanks 
unto tlie Lord." This Psalm is supposed to have 
been composed by David, after he had rest from 
all liis enemies, (2 ^am. vii. 1.) or about the time 
that tlie Ark was conveyed to Mount Zion, to be 
used in the worship of the Sanctuary on the Sab- 
batli Dav. It was alwavs sung by the Jewish 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PKAYEK. ir>!> 

choirs on that day. A jjortioii of this psahn iis a 
(•haunt appointed lor the daily Evening Prayer, 
and is an echo to the exhortation at the begin- 
ning of the service: "To render thanks for the 
great benefits that we have received at His hands, 
to set fortli His most worthy praise." 

Every person may tind in the Psalter for the 
day some thing peculiarly suited to his own se- 
cret feelings, and may appropriate to himsell' the 
words which David uttered, and the Church of 
Israel sang. One who is suffering under sorrow, 
temptation, or sin, and is trying to bear or to re- 
sist it by his own strength, may lind a solution of 
his difficulties at Evening Prayer the sixth day of 
the month, in Psalm xxxii ; which was composed 
by David in reference to his interview with the 
prophet Nathan. 2 >S'«m. xii. 

An instance of the Church acting out a grand 
historical type of the Bible, is found in the use of 
Psalm xxiv. as one of the proper psalms for As- 
cension Day, at Evening Prayer. The bringing 
of the Ark of the covenant -the visible token of 
God's presence with His people -to Mount Zion, 
(1 Chron. xv.) gave occasion for this Psalm. The 
removal of the Ark was attended by a magnifi- 
cent procession of the people, as many as could 
be assembled for the purpose. " There was little 
Benjamin with their ruler, the i^rinces of Judah 
and their council, the princes of Zebulun, and the 
princes of i^apthali." {Fmlm Ixviii. 27.) "The 
Levites led the procession, accompanied by a 
great variety of vocal and instrumental music." 
The children of the Levites bear the Ark of God up- 
on their shoulders, with the staves thereon, as Moses 



160 THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

commanded according to the word of the Lord. 1 
Chron, xv. 15. 

They have seen Thy goings, O God; the goings of 
my God, my King, in the Sanctuary. The singers go 
before, the players on instruments after; among them 
were the damsels playing with timbrels. Fs. Ixviii. 
And as they went they chaunted psalms. On 
arriving at the summit of the mountain upon 
which stood the Tabernacle, they sang:- 
The earth is the Lord's, and all that therein is; the 
compass of the world, and they that dwell therein. 
Thus they proclaimed the almighty power of 
Him whose servants they were. 
Who shall ascend into the hill of the Lordf or who 
shall rise uj) in His holy place? 

Who is worthy thus to do Him service? 

Even he that hath clean hands and a pure heart 

he shall receive the blessing from the Lord. 
And now they drew near the Tabernacle, and be- 
held its spacious gates; and the Levites sang a- 
loud : 

Lift up your heads, O ye gates ; and be ye lift up, 
ye everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall 
come in! 

Then the gate keepers challenged :- 
Who is this King of Glory ? 
And the Levites replied :- 
It is the Lord strong and mighty, even the Lord 
mighty in battle. Even the Lord of hosts. He is 
the King of Glory. 

And so the grand procession i)assed in, and the 
Ark of God was "set in the midst of the tent that 
David had pitched for it." IChron. xy\. 1. 

And now the Church teaches us to turn to that 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 101 

spot near Betliauy, wbitlier our blessed Saviour 
led His disciples, and lifted up His hands and 
blessed them. 
And it came to pass, while He blessed them. He 

was parted from them, and carried up into heaven. 

Lulce xxiv. 50, 51. 

Can we not imagine Him borne upwards, fly- 
ing "upon the wings of the Avind," (i's. xviii. 10.) 
triumphantly ascending amidst myriads of min- 
istering angels, to that Holy City w^hose founda- 
tions are garnished with precious stones, whose 
twelve gates are twelve pearls, whose streets are 
pure gold; aud the Lord God Almighty and the 
Lamb are the Temple of it! {Rev. xxi.) 

As the glorious comi)any gains the precious 
gates, there arises this shout of triumph-triumph 
for us, because our Saviour hath '^overcome death 
aud opened unto us the gate of everlasting life " 
{Collect for Easter. )\- 
Lift up your iieads, () ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye 

everlasting doors; and the King of Glory shall come 

in! 

And to the resp(msive shout, "Who is this King 
of Glory?" swells the grand chorus whic^h echoes 
from the remotest corners of the earth, and is ta- 
ken up by "the holy Church throughout all the 
world :"-' 
It is the Lord strong and mighty; the Lord mighty 

in battle; the Lord of hosts; He is the King of Glory! 
Let us now examine the offices, or " ministra- 
tions," appointed for the rites aud ceremonies of 
the Church. 

In the " Order for the ailministration of the 
Lord's Supper, or Holy Communion," it is difficult 



162 THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

to select any one part more than another to show 
the harmonj^ between the Bible and the Church. 
Perhaps it is most conspicuous in the "Prayer of 
Consecration," and in the one immediately pre- 
ceding, to be said by the Minister "in the name 
of all those who shall receive the Communion." 

The Prayer in the "Ministration of Baptism," 
beautifully sets forth the type of the Ark built by 
Noah, " wherein few, that is, eight souls were sav- 
ed hy water. The like figure whereunto even bap- 
tism doth now save us." 1 Feter iii. 20, 21. 

The Ark typifies the Church, into which hav- 
ing entered by ivater, we may be saved through 
obedience to its teaching and ordinances (that is 
by keeping within its shelter,) from being destroy- 
ed by the raging storms of temptation and trial. 

The Prayer likewise illustrates the figure which 
St. Paul uses :- 

Moreover brethren, I would not that ye should be 
ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud 
and all passed through the sea; And were all baptiz- 
ed unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 1 Cor. x. 

"The Order of Confirmation" is in harmony 
with the consecration of a Priest, with laying on 
of hands by the Bishop, to minister in the Church: 
for a person is in like manner consecrated as a 
priest over liis own body, which is the temple of 
the Lord. ( See pp. 105-108.) The Jews had a rite 
similar to Confirmation, to which it is supposed 
that Jesus submitted when He was twelve years 
ohl. Luke ii. 43. 

In the exhortation in the "Form of Solemniza- 
tion of Matrimony," matrimony is said to be:- 
Commend<Ml of St. Paul to be honourable amonji 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. IG.'i 

all men : aud tlierefore is not by any to be entered in- 
to unadvisedly or ligbtly; but reverently, discreetly, 
advisedly, soberly, and in the fear of God. 

St. Paul thus explains the solemn typical signi- 

ticance of marriage :- 

Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, 
as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the 
wife, even as Christ is the head of the Church: and 
He is the Saviour of the body. Therefore as the 
Church is subject unto Christ, so let wives be to their 
own husbands in every thing. Husbands, love your 
wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave 
Himself for it: So ought men to love their wives as 
their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth him- 
self. For no man ever yet hated his own flesh; but 
nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the 
Church. For we are members of His Body, of His 
^ffesh, and of His bones. For this cause shall a man 
leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto 
his Avife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a 
great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the 
Church. Uph. v. 22-32. 

St. Paul here shows the type of the man Adam, 

and the woman Eve, taken out of his side:- 

And Adam said, This is now bone of my bones, and 
iiesh of my flesh : she shall be called Woman, because 
she was taken out of man. Therefore shall a man 
leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto 
his wife: and they shall be one flesh. Gen. ii. 23, 24. 
This is the vow made at the time of marriage :- 

Wilt thou have this Woman to thy wedded Wife, 
to live together after God's ordinance, in the holy 
estate of Matrimony? Wilt thou love her, comfort her, 
honour and keep her, in sickness and in health; and 



164 THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 

forsaking all others, keep, thee only unto her, so lon^ 
as ye both shall live ? 

In the " Order for the visitation of the sick," 
and in the Prayer'^'for persons under sentence of 
death," the form of blessing is used which :- 
The Lord spake unto Moses, saying. Speak unto 
Aaron and unto his sons, saying. On this wise ye shall 
bless the children of Israel, saying unto them. The 
Lord bless thee, and keep thee: the Lord make His 
face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee: Tlie 
Lord lift up His countenance upon thee, and give tbee 
peace. Num. vi. 22-26. 

The form of blessing pronounced when the 
Congregation is about to depart, is taken from 
what St. Paul says:- 

And the peace of God which passeth all understand- 
ing, shall keep your hearts and minds through Jesus 
Clirist. FMl. iv. 7. 

These few examples may serve to aid in study- 
ing the external means appointed in the Church 
to interpret and apply the lequirements of the 
Bible. By a faithful use of them we may realize 
the fulfilment of the Lord's promise, that the Com- 
forter, which is the Holy Ghost, shall teach us all 
things. Many of the Collects contain petitions 
for it. The one to be said in the Communion Ser- 
vice, before the Ten Commandments, Avhile it is 
a response to the exhortation at the opening of 
Morning and Evening Prayer-That we should not 
dissemble nor cloak our sins before the face of 
Almighty God our heavenly Father- is a prayer 
for this inestimable gift:- 



i 



THE BOOK OF COMMON PRAYER. 1<).J 

ALMIGHTY God, unto whom all hearts are ()}>eii, 
all desires known, and from whom no secrets are 
hid; cleanse the thoughts of our hearts by the inspira- 
tion of thy Holy Spirit; that we may perfectly love 
thee, and worthily magnify thy holy Name, through 
Christ our Lord. Amen. 



If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do 
them. John xiii. 17. 



THE E:t;rD. 



p,?^ 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

029 822 356 9 






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